South Dakota FEM Electric Association CEO Scott Moore was rummaging through old boxes in his office and came across several worn film canisters. One, in particular, caught his eye: By the People for the People, a single-reel 16-mm print accompanied by a grainy set of instructions identifying it as the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s first film. NRECA is the national association representing more than 900 electric cooperatives in 47 states that help those electric co-ops provide a better quality of life for its member-owners.

By the People for the People was produced around 1955, about a decade after the birth of NRECA. The film highlights the challenges electric co-ops faced in their formative years and the rapid expansion after World War II. It’s a great historical perspective, highlighting some of the issues electric cooperatives face still to this day.

Eighty-three of Kentucky’s best and brightest rising high school seniors descended upon the nation’s capital in June, representing electric cooperatives on the annual Washington Youth Tour, an all-expenses-paid, week-long experience sponsored by participating electric cooperatives.

Allison Wade of Jackson Energy was selected as the Youth Leadership Council representative from Kentucky.

“The Youth Tour was an unbelievable experience that was almost too special for words,” Wade said. “Throughout the Youth Tour, I made memories and friendships that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and I am beyond grateful to share this experience with other cooperatives across Kentucky.”

En route on two motor coaches, the journey began with visits to the homes of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, followed by more than 40 miles of walking to monuments and museums in Washington, D.C..

“As I was surrounded by incredible people, monuments, history, politicians, and current events, Washington D.C. captured my heart,” said Annah Valenta of Blue Grass Energy. “This trip has helped guide my decision to pursue political journalism, a passion of mine which grew much stronger after my week in D.C.. And it’s all thanks to Blue Grass Energy and KAEC.”

Kentucky’s delegation joined a record crowd of 1,800 students at the NRECA Youth Day, where they heard from speakers who motivate and honor the spirit of electric cooperatives’ commitment to community and the important role of being politically aware and politically active.

“I learned about how the government works and I got to see sights that I could only imagine seeing,” said Walker Hancock of South Kentucky RECC. “It was an honor being able to go on this trip and represent SKRECC.”

The students visited Capitol Hill on the same day as the shooting of Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise and four others at a baseball practice. Despite the incident, Kentucky’s congressional delegation kept their commitment to meet with the students, candidly talking about security concerns and answering a wide variety of questions from the students.

“The week I spent in D.C. was a highlight of my life,” said Evan Morton of Meade County RECC. “I am very thankful for Meade Co RECC, as well as all chaperones and youth tour leaders, that offered me such an incredible experience. I left Washington with many memories and new friends that I’ll never forget.”

Coordinated by the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives, the tour was led by KAEC’s Mary Beth Dennis and 13 chaperones.

“Thanks to Mary Beth and all the folks at KAEC for a wonderful week in Washington D.C.” said Renita Fox, a chaperone from Jackson Energy. “It was an amazing experience and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to see these young kids enjoy and have such a good time together.”

Watch the Kentucky Washington Youth Tour 2017 recap video:

Officials from East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) and Bavarian Waste Services today dedicated the expansion of the cooperative’s power plant, which is fueled by methane gas from the landfill.

EKPC’s plant at Bavarian Landfill in Boone County, Ky., is the largest landfill gas power plant in the state. It was EKPC’s first such plant when it began operations in 2003. Today, the cooperative has six landfill gas power plants in Kentucky.

“This power plant at Bavarian Landfill plays an important role in providing safe, reliable, affordable energy for our 16 owner-member cooperatives and more than 1 million Kentuckians served by those co-ops,” said Don Mosier, EKPC’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President.

In the past year, the power plant was expanded so it can generate nearly 50 percent more electricity. It can generate enough electricity to power more than 2,700 homes.

“This is resource recovery at its best,” said Jim Brueggemann, President of Bavarian.  “It’s not only efficient but clean, and transforms our landfill into an energy factory. As the garbage decomposes we extract the typically undesirable gas for a fuel source that EKPC can use to generate electricity,” Brueggemann explained.  “Bavarian has enjoyed an excellent relationship with EKPC through the years, and we’re thankful to be expanding that today.”

By using methane as fuel, the plant prevents the powerful greenhouse gas from escaping into the atmosphere.

EKPC owns and operates five other landfill gas plants in Kentucky. They are located in Barren, Greenup, Hardin, Laurel and Pendleton counties. Together, these plants generate enough electricity to power more than 8,000 Kentucky homes.

Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives broke ground Tuesday on Cooperative Solar Farm One, a 60-acre solar farm located in Clark County, Ky.

When completed in November, the not-for-profit solar farm will feature 32,300 solar panels, each of which will be available for licensing by members of the 16 participating electric cooperatives.

“Cooperative Solar is a great way to get all the benefits of solar panels for your home or business without the hassles of installing and maintaining the panels yourself,” said Joe Spalding, a member and director of Inter-County Energy Cooperative. Spalding also is the chairman of the board of directors for East Kentucky Power Cooperative, which will own and operate the solar farm on behalf of its 16 owner-member cooperatives.

For a one-time payment of $460 per panel, participating members will receive a 25-year license for a panel. That means they will get credit on their monthly power bill for the value of the energy generated by their share of the solar farm. And they can monitor panel performance online.

Construction of the solar farm is scheduled to be completed by November.

To learn more and to sign up to participate, visit www.CooperativeSolar.com.

Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives comprise 16 not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperatives that serve more than 1 million Kentucky residents across 87 Kentucky counties. They include:

• Big Sandy RECC, Paintsville, Ky.
• Blue Grass Energy, Nicholasville, Ky.
• Clark Energy Cooperative, Winchester, Ky.
• Cumberland Valley Electric, Gray, Ky.
• Farmers RECC, Glasgow, Ky.
• Fleming-Mason Energy, Flemingsburg, Ky.
• Grayson RECC, Grayson, Ky.
• Inter-County Energy Cooperative, Danville, Ky.
• Jackson Energy Cooperative, McKee, Ky.
• Licking Valley RECC, West Liberty, Ky.
• Nolin RECC, Elizabethtown, Ky.
• Owen Electric Cooperative, Owenton, Ky.
• Salt River Electric, Bardstown, Ky.
• Shelby Energy Cooperative, Shelbyville, Ky.
• South Kentucky RECC, Somerset Ky.
• Taylor County RECC, Campbellsville, Ky.

Kentucky native Neil Chatterjee has been chosen by President Donald Trump to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The longtime aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has a background with electric cooperatives, having previously worked for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

“Over the years he has played an integral role in the passage of major energy, highway, and farm legislation,” reads a White House statement announcing Chatterjee’s nomination.

At a reception in his honor last month in Washington, D.C. in April, Chatterjee told leaders from Kentucky’s electric cooperatives that he sees FERC as a largely non-partisan agency committed to securing America’s energy future.

As senior energy adviser to McConnell, Chatterjee helped craft energy and environmental policy in the Senate, and has been regarded as an instrumental player in the opposition to President Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan that sets new and aggressive limits on carbon emissions, and fundamentally changes how electricity is generated, distributed and consumed in the United States.

“Our program is delighted President Trump has chosen Neil Chatterjee to fill a vacancy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,” said Chris Perry, president of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives. “Neil is an extremely qualified individual with a wealth of knowledge.  We appreciate his support of electric cooperatives and our members.”

“We are thrilled to have yet another Kentuckian making sound policy decisions for our members,” Perry added. “We wish him the best of luck in the nomination and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Trump also nominated Robert Powelson, a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, for another vacancy on the commission. Both Republican candidates face confirmation hearings before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“I appreciate the president taking the vital first step to fill these vacancies,” said Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. “I urge the Senate to move swiftly to consider these nominees once they are sent from the White House.  There is no reason to delay consideration. In fact, the longer the delay, the more daunting the backlog that will face the new commissioners.”

”FERC has been left with only two sitting commissioners for the past three months,” Matheson explained. “President Trump’s efforts to restore FERC’s quorum of commissioners would enable the agency to move forward on issues important to co-ops such as access to a diverse power supply, the certification of natural gas pipelines and ensuring the organized markets are meeting the needs of co-op consumer-members.”

“Neil has always been a great friend both personally and to our program,” said Chase Crigler, KAEC’s Community and Government Affairs Director. I could think of few better people to fill this vacancy. Neil’s knowledge of Washington, Kentucky and the regulatory process will make him invaluable in his new role. With Neil’s appointment to FERC, he is added to a growing list of Kentuckians who are bringing a little more of Kentucky to Washington, which in my view is sorely needed.”

Prior to serving Leader McConnell, Chatterjee worked as a Principal in Government Relations for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and as an aide to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce of Ohio. He began his career in Washington, DC, with the House Committee on Ways and Means. A Lexington, Kentucky native, he is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and the University of Cincinnati College of Law.

Encouraged to ride the strength of rural America’s voting clout, leaders from Kentucky’s electrical cooperatives descended on Capitol Hill in late April, making sure that Congress is aware of issues which affect the delivery of safe, reliable and affordable electricity.

“Our congressional delegation knows our concerns and is generally very responsive to them,” said Chris Perry, president of the Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives. “It’s our responsibility to keep them informed of how policy has a direct impact on our members at the end of the line.”

Perry led the Kentucky contingent who met with every member of Kentucky’s congressional delegation or their staff members.

“It speaks to the importance of electric cooperatives that our elected leaders took the time to meet with us in the middle of a very busy and consequential week in Washington,” said Mike Williams, president and CEO of Bluegrass Energy. Williams also serves on the NRECA Board of Directors.

Even as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was dealing with high level talks on the nation’s budget and tensions with North Korea, Kentucky’s senior senator made a special trip to a Capitol Visitor’s Center meeting room to address Kentucky’s electric cooperatives.

McConnell’s energy advisor, Neil Chatterjee, briefed co-op leaders on emerging energy policy. Chatterjee is said to be under consideration for a nomination to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Kentucky co-op leaders asked for congressional support of several issues, including:

• Rural Utilities Service Electric Loan Program which provides affordable capital to electric cooperatives for infrastructure development
• Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology tax credits. Make them permanent and  increase their value. Provide incentives needed for industry to invest in CCS.
• Parity for energy efficiency. Extend tax credits now enjoyed by wind and solar energy to highly-efficient geothermal heat pumps.
• Stop “disaster deductible” idea being considered by FEMA. FEMA grants are critical to co-ops. Self-funded recovery would involve borrowing and lead to rate increases for members in poor, rural areas.
• NRECA International programs.

“We’re not in a defensive posture. We have a chance to pursue things that are good for us,” said Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. “I ask you to redouble your efforts to make a difference in the quality of life for your members.”

Matheson addressed a standing room only crowd of more than 2,100 co-op managers, directors and staffers—the biggest turnout in years— at the NRECA’s 44th annual Legislative Conference.

“In a time of uncertainty, it’s all the more important for us to remain at the table, be active participants in the policy environment and assert ourselves as the voice of American consumers,” he said.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry told co-op leaders that President Trump is committed to an all-of-the-above energy strategy.

“We want energy that is made in America, that is good for America and good for American jobs,” Perry said.

Kentucky leaders also made a national splash when the Environmental Protection Agency posted photos on social media of a meeting between newly appointed EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and co-op leaders from Kentucky.

On April 13, Kentucky cooperatives hosted students to an educational day in Frankfort as part of the Rural Electric Youth Tour Program. In all, 160 students and chaperons from 19 cooperatives participated.

The day started with tours of the State Capitol and Governor’s Mansion before hearing from House Majority Floor Leader Jonathan Shell. Shell was the youngest member of the general assembly when he was elected in 2012, because of this he encouraged the students not to let age hold them back.

The group then moved to the Kentucky Historical Museum where they heard from Jacqueline Pitts, managing editor of The Bottom Line, about the involvement of media in politics and from KEES coordinator, Sara Wooden, about financial assistance for college.  Students then had the opportunity to tour the Old Capitol Building and the Kentucky Historical Museum giving them time to become better acquainted with one another. At the end of the day the cooperatives had the option of visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

From the group, approximately 100 students will be chosen to participate in a week-long Washington Youth Tour in June. During this trip students will join participants from across the country for a week of leadership training, conversations with elected leaders, and taking in the sights of our Nation’s Capitol.

The tour is coordinated by Kentucky electric cooperative’s statewide association—Kentucky Association of Electric Cooperatives—and you can see more photographs from the April 13 tour at KAEC’s Flickr page.

Members of Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives who want to help the environment and future generations by powering their home or business with renewable energy will soon have their chance. The co-ops have teamed together to build and operate a 60-acre solar farm that is expected to begin generating sun-powered electricity this fall.

State regulators recently gave the green light to plans for Cooperative Solar, the largest sun-to-electricity community solar farm in Kentucky. The facility is expected to produce enough electricity to satisfy the power needs of about 1,000 homes.

More than 32,000 solar panels are being installed on land adjacent to the headquarters of EKPC.

Cooperative Solar One, as the new solar farm is called, will provide members an easy, affordable way to benefit from sun power without the hassle, maintenance and expense of owning your own solar electricity generation.

Interested members will pay a one-time fee of $460 to license a single solar panel for 25 years. Each panel is expected to produce up to 50 kilowatt-hours of solar energy monthly.

To learn more, visit www.cooperativesolar.com.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) has approved a proposal by Big Rivers Electric Corp. to build seven small solar power facilities across its service territory.

In its application to the PSC, Big Rivers said the facilities would be used to test how well solar power can be integrated into the utility’s grid and also would serve to educate the public about solar energy.

The PSC, in an order issued today, found that building and operating the solar facilities would have no adverse impact on the operations or financial condition of Big Rivers. The PSC noted that Big Rivers is responding to requests from customers that the utility develop solar power programs.

Big Rivers is owned by and provides power to three electric distribution cooperatives: Jackson Purchase Energy Corp., Kenergy Corp. and Meade County Rural Electric Cooperative Corp. (Meade RECC). Together, the three cooperatives serve about 114,000 customers in 22 counties in western Kentucky.

The seven solar facilities, with an aggregate output of 120 kilowatts (kW), will be located at schools, parks or other public facilities, where they will be readily visible. The seven sites, with their generating capacity and cooperative, are:

• Livingston County Middle School, Burna – 10 kW – Jackson Purchase Energy
• McCracken County High School, Paducah – 10 kW – Jackson Purchase Energy
• Mike Miller Park, Benton – 10 kW – Jackson Purchase Energy
• Kenergy offices, Henderson and Owensboro – 30 kW each – Kenergy
• Meade RECC offices, Brandenburg – 20 kW; and Hardinsburg – 10 kW – Meade RECC

The total cost of the facilities is estimated at $500,000. Big Rivers said it will pay for the facilities out of its cash reserves and hopes to recoup $125,000 of the cost through a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program.