By Jon H. Harsch

© Copyright Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.

WASHINGTON, April 20 – USDA released a report Wednesday that details the wide array of renewable power opportunities available to producers in rural America. The “Renewable Power Opportunities for Rural Communities” report is a user-friendly guide designed to assist rural farmers and business operators, local and state government leaders, rural-based utilities and their leadership, and rural residents whose interests are focused on renewable power, distributed generation, and rural economic development.

 

Cover photo from USDA report on “Renewable Power Opportunities for Rural Communities.” 

The report includes extensive material on opportunities for rural utilities to invest in renewable electricity generation capacity.

Utility staff can use the report to learn about transmission access for renewable electrical power, system regulation, transmission expansion paths for renewable energy including modernization and a smart grid, future electricity demand, electric utility business models, and developing/financing strategies of renewable energy. In addition, a large number of renewable electric power developments in rural America are highlighted.

The report was prepared under the direction of USDA's Office of Energy Policy and New Uses (OEPNU) and the Office of the Chief Economist, and produced under a cooperative agreement with the State Utility Forecasting Group at Purdue University.

To read the complete 173-page report, click HERE.

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