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Cooperatives

Ireland trade mission shows investment paths for rural electric co-ops

Cooperatives, Economic development /

Rural areas in Minnesota continue to find innovative ways to attract private investment, skilled workers and stable employers. Foreign direct investment has become a steady source of that growth. Many international companies are now looking beyond big cities, which is why Great River Energy is partnering with its member-owner cooperatives and regional groups to connect […]

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Pollinator preservation shows results

Cooperatives, Initiatives, Sustainability /

Monarch monitoring success highlights the strength of vegetation management Great River Energy’s application for participation in the monarch candidate conservation agreement with assurances (CCAA) was approved in late 2024 and the cooperative recently completed its first year of milkweed monitoring with strong results. Milkweed monitoring showed that Great River Energy has more than enough milkweed

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Grid stable through late-January cold spell

Cooperatives, Member-owner cooperatives, Transmission /

Cold temperatures and winter storms across much of the United States tested the electric system over the last half of January. Great River Energy and its member-owners successfully kept service reliable thanks to a dependable and diverse portfolio of power supply resources, a strong transmission system and strategies to manage energy demand. As temperatures plunged,

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Regional meetings bring the message to the members

Cooperatives /

Great River Energy’s board of directors and senior staff traveled across Minnesota in early February for face-to-face meetings with the membership. Regional meetings, held in Mankato and St. Cloud this year, are annual events where Great River Energy discusses energy topics with member-owner directors and key staff and provides updates about Great River Energy and

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PowerOn Midwest reaches major regulatory milestone

Cooperatives, Transmission /

Great River Energy and its project partners ITC Midwest and Xcel Energy reached an important milestone with the filing of the PowerOn Midwest Certificate of Need application to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC). This is the first of two key regulatory approvals required before construction can begin. PowerOn Midwest is a series of new

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Town hall events gather input on future of energy

Community, Cooperatives, Power generation resources, Renewable energy /

Events provide opportunity to educate public, collect input on resource plans  Great River Energy hosted three public town halls in January to share updates on its forthcoming integrated resource plan (IRP) and gather community input that will help shape the cooperative’s long‑term power supply strategy. The IRP outlines how Great River Energy plans to meet

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Power planning

Beneficial electrification, Cooperatives, Electric vehicles, Member-owner cooperatives /

Partnership sets out to streamline EV projects and benefit consumers, the grid It’s true what they say: Failure to plan means planning to fail. That’s why Great River Energy is taking a proactive approach to addressing the barriers faced by utilities when it comes to achieving widespread transportation electrification, and a recently launched tool will

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Stronger together: Teamwork keeps lights on for members

Cooperatives, Member-owner cooperatives, Transmission /

When electric cooperatives look out for each other, everyone wins. Great River Energy line technicians were working on a transmission line recently when they encountered a challenge that disrupted the job. Even though it was late at night, they knew that help was just around the corner. That’s because co-ops follow seven guiding principles, one

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Hitting the slopes: How winter recreation, electric co-ops power Minnesota’s rural economy

Community, Cooperatives, Economic development, Member-owner cooperatives /

When temperatures drop, Minnesota’s economy heats up. Snow-based recreation generated $238 million in state economic value in 2023, a dramatic rise of $126 million since 2019, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. While many tourism sectors declined during the pandemic, skiing and snowboarding activity increased. Minnesota’s 23 ski facilities employed 2,406 workers and generated

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Survey shows member-consumers trust, prefer cooperatives

Cooperatives, Member-owner cooperatives /

Great River Energy conducted a survey of 800 member-consumers across Minnesota to get a snapshot of what matters most to cooperative members. The results showed that trust in Great River Energy and its member-owner cooperatives remains exceptionally strong. Over 90% of respondents rate information flow, outage response and board transparency as “good” or “excellent.” The

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