A proven energy-efficiency program and a jet engine complex are among the electric cooperative-backed economic development initiatives in line to receive about $13 million in loans and grants from the Agriculture Department. The money, which will underwrite job creation and retention projects in a dozen states, represents the latest round of funding under the Rural [...]

     The National 25×25 Alliance commends the Senate on its passage of a Farm Bill yesterday by a 64-35 margin that includes $800 million in mandatory funding for Energy Title programs. Not only did the final vote represent an important victory for rural renewable energy supporters, the overwhelming opposition to amendments that would have stripped [...]

  After a 20-hour bus ride home on June 22, 75 of Illinois’ brightest high school students were a little low on energy but full of good memories from this year’s Youth to Washington Tour. At the end of trip the students hugged and said their goodbyes at the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives (AIEC) [...]

Calling it part of a “pathway to prosperity,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced his department will partner with electric cooperatives in a new initiative to improve energy efficiency in rural parts of the country. Vilsack said the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Loan Program will turn to co-ops as intermediaries to help homeowners and small [...]

In July Illinois electric cooperatives sent crews to assist sister co-ops after a massive storm hit utilities hard from Chicago to the East Coast. The storm that went through Chicago and headed towards Washington, D.C. hit Ohio very hard. Co-ops that sent help include MJM Electric Cooperative, Rock Energy, Jo-Carroll Energy, Corn Belt Energy, EnerStar [...]

Many of America’s farmers and ranchers will face ­economic challenges due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to regulate greenhouse gases, the American Farm Bureau Federation told a House subcommittee. Carl Shaffer, President of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, testified on behalf of AFBF before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power. “Costs [...]

The state agencies that make up the Drought Response Task Force in Illinois met in mid-July to provide recommendations and assistance in dealing with persistent dry weather in the state. The Drought Response Task Force is chaired by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, and includes experts from the [...]

As copper theft continues to plague electric cooperatives and other utilities, a new report offers little hope of swapping out copper for other metals.  “The comparison shows that other metals such as zinc, iron, aluminum, etc. are not suitable as a direct replacement to copper since the conductivity of these metals is significantly lower,” CEATI [...]

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.- Illinois Corn Growers Association President Jeff Scates, a family farmer from Shawneetown, IL, released the following statement in response to the House Agriculture Committee’s 35-11 passage of the 2012 farm bill early Thursday morning: A 2012 farm bill signed and enacted by President Obama remains a top priority of the Illinois Corn Growers [...]

As electric bills rise because of summer temperatures, a handful of consumer-members at electric cooperatives have fallen prey to a coast-to-coast telemarketing scam offering bogus help with energy bills. Bogus telemarketers are telling consumers that President Obama will pay their electric bills if they provide personal information. Co-ops are warning members about the scam in [...]