Stories and News
New report: Project Tundra is a bad investment we can’t afford
When you hear the name Project Tundra or the phrase "carbon capture utilization and sequestration," what is the first thing that comes to mind? If you say "Bond-esque doomsday machine," you wouldn't be too far off the mark. Project Tundra is a carbon capture...
It’s Electric Co-op election season and YOUR VOTE is needed!
It’s election season for Minnesota’s electric co-ops, and member-owners across the state are casting votes. They are making their voices heard on the future of their utility and its energy system. During a global pandemic and corresponding economic crisis, electric...
Electric Co-ops need to be bold leaders in a time of crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic is exposing a myriad of weaknesses in our world’s economic, political, and social systems. Millions of people will be impacted worldwide, and the virus has already driven a major collapse on Wall Street. Times are going to be very tough for...
UCS Report links MN Electric Cooperatives to Coal Contracts
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) just released an issue brief on Minnesota electric cooperatives (“co-ops”) and the role of out-of-state coal-fired power plants. While Minnesota-based coal plants are being phased out, local electric cooperatives in the state...
“Rural Electrification 2.0” is the path to a clean energy future
Rural electric cooperatives’ loyalty to coal is holding rural America back. That’s according to a new report authored by CURE, We Own It, and the Center for Rural Affairs. During the 1970s, the country’s electric co-ops made significant investments to build...
Report Card: Most Minnesota electric co-op websites lack basics for informing and engaging members
What information can Minnesotans who get their electricity from a rural electric cooperative find on their co-op’s website? For example, can co-op members get a basic explanation about the charges and fees on their electric bill? Can they see what mix of energy...
Q&A: Duane Ninneman on the co-op report card project
Duane Ninneman is Executive Director of CURE in Montevideo, Minnesota. He lives on a farm in Big Stone County. Q: What sparked this review and report on co-op websites? Why did you do it? Ninneman: It all stems from the premise that a co-op is an amazing model in...
What is “Energy Democracy?”
Minnesotans value our communities and local businesses. We seek out sustainable food from area farmers and craft beer from the town brewery. We also demand clean energy that is locally produced and locally owned. Our vision for the future is Energy Democracy—an energy...
Can co-op ideals thrive again?
Minnesota is the birthplace of our modern cooperative movement and co-ops are a fundamental part of our history and culture. Co-ops are an example of rural people coming together to solve community problems. Looking to the future, the co-op movement and co-op business...
The seven guiding principles of cooperatives
Central to the operations of any cooperative are the seven principles of the cooperative business model: Voluntary and Open Membership Cooperatives are voluntary organizations open to all person able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of...
State further restricts PUC oversight of electric co-ops
“The omnibus jobs and energy legislation signed by Gov. Mark Dayton will remove utility regulators’ authority to settle customer disputes with electric co-ops — a measure the governor earlier vetoed as a single-issue bill. The new law will diminish the Minnesota Public Utility Commission’s oversight of the state’s 45 electric co-ops, which are mostly in […]
Minnesota’s solar energy subsidies look to be on their way out
“A popular rooftop solar energy subsidy would be killed by legislation heading to Gov. Mark Dayton, though a smaller amount of money would continue to flow to another solar program that is less lucrative for consumers.” http://www.startribune.com/solar-energy-subsidy-likely-to-be-cut/424683233/