Within the Inflation Reduction Act are provisions to help rural electric co-ops in new ways.

Rural electricity generation often is structured as a cooperative nonprofit with member-owners, and any overpayment is returned to members. The structure meant co-ops were excluded from certain green-energy tax incentives available to for-profit producers.

The Inflation Reduction Act changed the model and includes direct-pay tax incentives for co-ops to deploy new energy technology. Additionally, the act includes a $9.7 billion grant and loan program for clean-energy systems, giving electric co-ops broad flexibility to make upgrades to their infrastructure.

Philip Fracica, director of programs for Renew Missouri, said as one of the most coal-dependent states in the country, Missouri stands to gain a lot from the program.

"Really, out of most of the co-ops in the country, I think we're at probably the best value proposition for this program, because we have really old plants," Fracica explained. "In replacing them with better, more affordable generation options such as renewable energy, which they don't have a large mix in that portfolio to diversify them, make them more resilient."

The plan offers individual co-ops up to $970 million to make upgrades.

Electric-cooperative members are often still paying off debts incurred decades ago during the construction of old power plants and infrastructure. Fracica pointed out the new grant and loan program allows co-ops to retire debt and offers forgivable loans to help build new generation capacity. He sees the approach as being better over the long term.

"Why don't we go to the root of this problem, which is the co-ops having all these debt payments tied to old fossil-fuel plants?" Fracica noted. "If we give them this money and forgive it and replace it with meaningful investments, we're going to be better stewards of our federal dollars to help folks in rural communities and also reduce energy costs."

The grant and loan program allows cooperatives the flexibility to use money and make the most sense locally. Options include making investments in new energy-generating technology including solar, wind or nuclear, as well as making efficiency upgrades to existing generation and transmission infrastructure, or adding battery storage, or carbon-capture systems.

While it is a large investment in moving to renewables, Fracica contended the overall need in America is much greater.

"We had asked for 10 times this funding amount originally," Fracica noted. "Because our data and research showed that we actually will need $100 billion if we wanted to get all of our rural-electric cooperatives in the United States off of fossil fuels."

In a new poll, 81% of registered voters from several Midwestern states said they oppose corporations resorting to eminent domain for private projects.

The results come amid high-profile carbon capture efforts in North Dakota and elsewhere. Companies such as Summit Carbon Solutions have drawn attention in trying to scale up carbon-capture technology. Summit is seeking approval to build a multistate pipeline which would transport ethanol plant emissions for underground storage in North Dakota.

Emma Schmit, pipeline organizer for the coalition Bold Alliance, which commissioned the survey, said opposition to how land is secured for proposed routes falls across many demographics.

"While we do see that the rural voters that carbon-capture projects most adversely affect - they do have these strongest levels of opposition - I was interestingly surprised to see that urban and suburban voters really did not lag far behind in their overwhelming opposition," Schmit observed.

In North Dakota specifically, 90% of survey respondents called it a "serious" concern if "corporations are allowed to seize people's private property to build carbon capture and storage projects." Summit insists its goal is to secure "100% voluntary easement agreements," but it could not rule out pursuing practices such as eminent domain as landowner negotiations continue.

Summit has seen mixed results at the regulatory level for necessary permits, including an initial rejection in North Dakota. However, the company said it has secured 83% of the land easements along the state's pipeline route while filing a revised application.

Zach Cassidy, pipeline organizer for the Dakota Resource Council, said more broadly, the survey revealed an interesting dynamic.

"The fact of the matter is here in North Dakota, most policymakers have supported this pipeline, but most voters have not," Cassidy asserted.

In addition to landowner rights, the Summit project has sparked a backlash over environmental and public safety concerns. The survey, conducted in late July, included nearly 2,500 interviews with registered voters across six states.

President Joe Biden has announced a landmark $7.3 billion investment, the largest since the FDR New Deal, aimed at electrifying rural America.

Funded by his Inflation Reduction Act, the initiative will bring significant changes to energy infrastructure across the country, benefiting farmers, businesses and communities waiting for modern power solutions.

Weston Lombard, a farmer from Athens County and a recipient of funding, the program is a welcome relief but he believes there is more to be done.

"I was super fortunate to benefit from the IRA program, but there are so many other people who aren't benefiting," Lombard pointed out. "$7 billion is amazing but I know it's not going to touch all the communities."

Lombard, whose farm faces frequent power outages, appreciates the cost savings and improved grid reliability but prefers a more sustainable, off-grid approach. He noted he has installed solar panels and hopes to expand neighborhood electric generation projects but prefers relying on ecosystem services rather than external energy.

As Biden unveiled the initiative, he underscored the unprecedented opportunities for rural communities and nonprofit co-ops to benefit from clean-energy tax credits, historically reserved for larger utilities.

"For the first time in American history, these nonprofit co-ops can benefit from clean-energy tax credits just like for-profit utilities have for decades," Biden said.

The federal government sees the investment as a crucial first step.

Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, emphasized the funding will help transform energy infrastructure in the heart of rural America, marking the beginning of a larger commitment to energy modernization and job creation.

"Sixteen rural electric cooperatives from across the country have been selected as a part of this first round of awards from the Department of Agriculture's Empowering Rural America program," Jean-Pierre outlined.

Jean-Pierre stressed the cooperatives are set to lower energy costs for rural Americans, enhance grid reliability, and create more than 4,500 permanent jobs and more than 16,000 construction jobs.

She added the move is a critical piece of the administration's strategy to not only boost rural economies but accelerate the transition to cleaner, more reliable energy sources for future generations.


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Minnesota has plenty of prime farmland, with some of it being converted in the transition to clean energy sources such as solar. The movement has sparked conversations about future land use in ag-heavy areas.

The Clean Grid Alliance said Minnesota has 17 million acres of farmland considered "prime." Even if all current development plans are fully realized, solar would take up less than 0.5% of the total. However, in some farming communities, residents sometimes express reluctance about adding a new layer to a town's identity.

Trish Harren, Mower County administrator, said it can happen after visible signs of a solar project but she pointed out the economic benefits are substantial.

"As solar builds out, it will be an economic-development tool that will help us keep our tax base stable," Harren explained.

Harrin noted they have already seen the same effect with wind development and the pending Louise Solar Project is expected to provide more than $2 million in new tax revenue to help pay down local tax levies. Officials said the revenue is on top of direct payments to landowners hosting the projects.

Harrin stressed as they map out future land use, they have to strike a delicate balance because agriculture is still their primary economic driver.

Researchers at Virginia Tech are looking at the possible connection between larger solar farms and soil erosion along farm property.

Marlin Fay, president of the Mower County Farm Bureau, suggested whatever side effects might come up, the projects are not going to eliminate the nation's ability to grow food.

"If you have solar panels on the land for 30 years, they can come out of there and that land can go back to farming," Fay explained. "If you start having residential development and big business or something, come into farmland and start putting stuff on there, that's never going to go back to farmland again."

The local leaders also pointed to the emergence of agrivoltaics, which is farming and renewables working hand in hand. Examples include growing rows of crops in between or under canopies of solar panels or planting flowers around the installations so pollinators can float around them.