NRECA tapped by DOE to further wind energy deployment by electric cooperatives

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) was selected by the Department of Energy (DOE) to research community-based wind energy solutions for deployment by electric cooperatives.

NRECA is working with the DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as well as Hoss Consulting and Mana Group to develop business models and technologies for wind projects that can benefit electric cooperatives and their members/customers. The goal is to increase understanding of the potential benefits of distributed wind and foster the adoption of these technologies in rural areas.

“This collaborative research will help support DOE’s effort to accelerate cost-effective and responsible deployment of distributed wind systems across the United States, raise the quality of distributed wind products, and grow the nation’s domestic energy industry,” Jim Spiers, senior vice president of Business and Technology Strategies at NRECA, said. “Small-scale wind is a clean energy resource that can provide unique benefits to rural electric consumers.”

The DOE launched a similar program to accelerate utility-scale solar at co-ops across rural areas.

NRECA expects this project to increase the number of electric cooperatives using wind. The DOE has identified the potential for “hundreds of thousands of turbines” totaling more than 10 gigawatts of electric capacity on rural distribution grids.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives for approximately 42 million Americans.