For rural communities, the Farm Bill plays a vital role in determining access to resources that help farmers, small businesses, and rural electric cooperatives. As Congress continues negotiations on the next Farm Bill, the Rural Power Coalition (RPC) is committed to advocating for programs that support investments in affordable rural energy.  

Ninety years ago, a profound transformation of rural America began—one that led to the creation of nearly 900 energy democracies. Today, these democracies are called rural electric cooperatives and electric membership corporations. The Rural Electrification Administration, now known as the Rural Utility Service (RUS), was one of the most successful federal agencies in our nation’s history, bringing power to millions of rural residents.

RPC member Mountain Association a new op-ed in Carter County Times. Mountain Association has secured over 60 grants for businesses and farms in Eastern Kentucky, under the federal REAP program.

REAP grants "can cover up to 25 percent of the cost of solar more efficient HVAC system, LED lighting, or better insulation" which have kept farmers, ranchers, and small businesses competitive. The Trump Administration has unofficially frozen this important program—one that has enjoyed bipartisan support—but it must be protected.

"I tell you that the whole state is at a crossroads, and every new generation investment is a 40 year commitment," Woolery said. He added that member-owners need to be more involved in their respective co-ops, "telling the decision makers that we can meet all our needs, both the need for extra power for data centers, as well as our needs at home, by investing in low risk technologies for energy efficiency, conservation, and load control. That way our bills will be lower, and then, even if the data centers don't come, in the worst case scenario, we will have made the right investments that lowered our bills."

Are you one of 42 million Americans that isn’t just a utility customer, but also a member-owner of your utility? Are you one of the 23 million or more of that group that doesn’t realize it?

For this episode of the Local Energy Rules Podcast, host John Farrell is joined by three organizers from the Rural Power Coalition: Chris Woolery, Energy Projects Coordinator with Mountain Association; Aaron Fernando, Co-op Organizer with Shareable; and Kyle Crider, Policy Director at The People’s Justice Council.

2025 was a tumultuous year for the United States and for those folks working in energy and renewables. Despite political unpredictability, unexplained funding freezes, slashes to key tax credits, announced reorganizations, abrupt policy shifts, and a federal governing style that only sometimes seems intentionally chaotic, the Rural Power Coalition spent the year putting in the legwork to ensure we are well prepared for what’s to come

In a time when we’re seeing big changes in the political, energy generation, and energy demand landscapes all at the same time, Wisconsin Farmers Union will continue to work to listen to our members at the farm-level and carry their priorities of local protection, resilient generation, and community investment forward.

The idea here is to have community members, not specialists, to drive the efforts to work toward energy affordability, reliability, and sustainability in rural areas.

It has become apparent that the injection of AI data centers into communities will continue to be an ongoing issue for much of Rural America, and one that threatens energy affordability and reliability. 

Then, as energy developments are planned, sited, and built out due to increased energy demands, there is a clear need to empower communities to secure community benefits plans that ensure local needs are met as developments get underway. 

The USDA announced that it would be reorganizing the entire agency, back in July.… the USDA is facing a mass exodus of experienced personnel, with over 15,000 employees already accepting offers to resign. The damage that has already occurred is irreversible, but Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins can still take action to protect her agency from being dismantled which would have detrimental effects on countless farmers and rural communities

Even though these co-ops are democratic on paper, in reality, they often leave a lot to be desired. “A lot of our community members that we surveyed did not know that they could vote for the governing board,” says Donaghy. “We believe it is by design, by the [rural electric cooperative] so they can maintain levels of power.”

2024 was yet another monumental year in the fight for the future of Rural Electric Cooperatives (RECs). The Rural Power Coalition’s steadfast advocacy for electric co-ops and rural communities bore fruit, as $9 billion in federal REC investments from the New ERA program have been ‘obligated’! According to the USDA, 45 million rural citizens, 35,000 family farms, and 430 co-ops are expected to benefit from the New ERA program, while supporting 25,000 jobs!

This spring, the US Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced two final rules to regulate the greenhouse gas emissions of coal-, oil-, and gas-fired power plants in the US.

The continuation of the funding levels in the Farm Bill for New ERA, PACE, and REAP, as well as the extension of the RESP deadline, are essential to rebuilding our rural electric infrastructure.

A CBP is a tool for increasing the benefits that flow to communities with an associated project. CBPs are non-binding agreements between a project applicant or developer and key community and labor stakeholders. 

2023 proved to be another pivotal year in the fight for the future of Rural Electric Cooperatives.