Navigating and addressing rural and remote energy issues is a key priority for State Energy Offices as they seek to advance their states’ energy affordability, resiliency, reliability, decarbonization, and economic development goals. Specific topics of interest include the energy-agriculture nexus, clean energy project and infrastructure siting, economic development and workforce opportunities, community engagement, energy program and project development, and partnerships with other state agencies, the federal government, and the private sector. To identify and address these areas, State Energy Offices are setting up programs targeting rural and remote communities, establishing advisory task forces and committees, conducting feasibility studies, and bringing on staff to facilitate energy outreach. The recent influx of federal funding has also provided additional pathways for states to support rural and remote communities in addressing their energy needs. 

For more information about the NASEO Energizing Rural Communities Prize Project, please watch the video below:

The NASEO Rural Energy Working Group meets on a quarterly basis in the form of educational webinars and forums; depending on the topic, these engagements may be open to all NASEO members or by invitation only. These meetings provide an opportunity for peer-sharing and information exchange by bringing in expert speakers from the private sector, federal government, and rural communities to share insights.

Through the Rural Energy Working Group, State Energy Officials can explore fellow state approaches to rural energy access and clean energy deployment; identify opportunities and impediments (technical and non-technical); identify and express state priorities and interests; inform policy, planning, programs, and regulation; consider unregulated and member-driven electric sector investments and implications; and advance road map and pilot options.

If you would like to join the Rural Energy Working Group or learn more about the initiative, please contact Kelsey Jones (kjones@naseo.org) and Jasmine Xie (jxie@naseo.org). 

In July 2023, NASEO, in partnership with the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), Energy and Natural Resources Division (the State Energy Office), was awarded an Energizing Rural Communities Prize by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations. The objective of the Prize was to support innovative partnerships in Mississippi that could alleviate energy reliability and energy burden challenges faced by the rural community of Blue Mountain, Mississippi.

Phase One of the project was implemented from July 2023 to July 2024, during which NASEO and MDA assisted in identifying additional project team partners. These project partners included the Blue Mountain Mayor’s Office; New Albany Light, Gas & Water (NALGW), a municipal utility servicing the town of Blue Mountain and its surrounding area; and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which provides bulk power to the municipal utility through a power purchase agreement. The team came together to identify a pathway for mitigating frequent energy outages in Blue Mountain. A solar and storage microgrid was identified as the most affordable, resilient, and clean solution for Blue Mountain that would also provide economic, decarbonization, and health benefits for the community.

Through this project, NASEO and MDA advanced this productive and strategic partnership, convened in-person meetings to promote peer learning and facilitate community engagement among local residents and decision-makers, and developed written and presentation materials on best practices around this teaming approach that other states could leverage for their own rural community engagement. In September 2024, Blue Mountain, Mississippi was announced as one of 33 communities awarded funding through Phase Two of the Prize, which will enable NALGW to develop and issue a solicitation to conduct a feasibility study for the clean energy microgrid in Blue Mountain. This will provide valuable data and information on cost, location, permitting, and sizing for the eventual construction of the clean energy microgrid to alleviate energy outages experienced by the town.

Federal Program Highlights:
  • The Environmental and Energy Study Institute showcases three rural cooperatives that were awarded clean energy grants by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Powering Affordable Clean Energy in Rural Areas (PACE) program. This partially forgivable loan program supports solar and storage battery projects for rural communities and has a $1 billion budget authority. These three case studies were part of a first cohort of five awardees announced in March 2024, receiving a total of $139 million.
  • The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) launched their Communities Sparking Investment in Transformative Energy (C-SITE) Funding Opportunity to provide $18 million in financial awards and technical assistance to advance community-identified energy priorities, spanning various technology areas including building efficiency and/or electrification, energy infrastructure upgrades, microgrid development and deployment, renewable energy, workforce development, and more. Eligible recipients include local government and tribal entities, which have until May 31, 2024, to submit full applications.
  • The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched the Rural and Agricultural Income and Savings from Renewable Energy (RAISE) Initiative to help farmers reduce costs and increase income through the use of underutilized renewable energy technologies such as distributed wind. Some of the activities include technical assistance to support Rural Energy for American Program (REAP) applications, funding for research into and outreach on new business models for collaborations of farmers to earn income from distributed wind, funding for a distributed wind Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP) which will fund technology development and commercialization, a joint educational webinar series from DOE and USDA, and the development of a guide for farmers on distributed wind that will include technical, economic, and geospatial analysis.
State Program Highlights:
Written Resources:
Selected Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Provisions:
Selected Inflation Reduction Act Provisions:
Annual Programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA):