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The Rural Utilities Service, under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended, is able to finance projects developed by eligible non-profit utility organizations, such as electric cooperatives and public utility districts, but cannot provide capital to individuals. The Agency is pursuing options for eligible organizations to develop renewable energy, and has financed both photovoltaic and wind powered renewable energy projects developed by current borrowers.
This page will provide a partial list of links to other webpages developed by government, industry groups, conferences, events, and other interesting webpages promoting renewable energy. Check back for updates on conferences and upcoming events. Also, feel free to contact us with additional information you would like to share, including conferences, workshops, projects and success stories.
For more information on RUS policy regarding renewable projects, contact Georg A. Shultz, Energy Forecasting Branch, Electric Staff Division by email to gshultz@rus.usda.gov. |
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The President's National Energy Policy (NEP) provides an evaluation of current energy supply and demand in the United States and forecasts of future energy needs. It addresses methods and technologies for meeting the energy demands of the future. The full NEP is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy. Of particular interest is Chapter 6 entitled "Nature's Power" which addresses renewable energy resources. Chapter 6 is accessible at http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy/Chapter6.
The U. S. Department of Agriculture firmly supports the President's National Energy Policy. Secretary Ann Venneman has on many occasions endorsed the policies, especially with regard to exploration of renewable energy resources to preserve fossil fuels and the environment. Her recent order of the use by USDA of ethanol and biodiesel can be found at http://www.usda.oico/directives/SM/SM5400-008.pdf.
RUS Administrator Hilda Legg in further support of the National Energy Policy and Secretary Venneman has written a letter to all RUS borrowers encouraging the use of biodiesel. For further information on biodiesel click on the titles below. As we discover new sites, they will be added.
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At its offices in Washington, D. C., the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) offers lunch time speakers on various topics. The series has currently scheduled three programs on the second Thursday in each month. For more information on the series, visit the NREL website (http://www.nrel.gov/events.html).
The Harvesting Clean Energy 2nd Annual Conference - Farming for Energy Independence was held on February 25-27, 2002, at the Pasco, Washington, Airport Doubletree. Sponsors of the conference included: Big Bend Electric Cooperative, Benton Rural Electric Assn, Franklin County PUD, Washington PUD Assn, Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Inland Power & Light, USDA Rural Development, US DOE, US EPA, Washington State University. The conference addressed rural issues in the advancement of clean energy initiatives, including success stories from the Washington Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the Grant County Economic Development Council, and several farmers and ranchers. The group continues to work on promoting clean energy projects. Many of the papers, including the speech by Sharon Ashurst of the Electric Staff Division of RUS, can be found on the websites listed below. For more information visit NREL's website (http://www.nrel.gov/events.html) or the conference websites (http://capps.wsu.edu/ and http://www.climatesolutions.org).
The 6th Annual Distributed Generation & On-Site Power Conference was held on March 11-13, 2002, at the Crowne Plaza, Atlanta, GA. Two in-depth workshops were offered on power quality and interconnections. Conference information can be accessed at http://www.dist-gen.com.
Chris Forbes of Siemens Westinghouse made a presentation on solid oxide fuel cells on December 5, 2001. Earlier this year RUS also had presentations on gasification from Glenn Farris of Biomass Gas and Electric to talk about the McNeil Generating Station project in Burlington. Vermont and Chris Lindsey from the Antares Group. Over the next few months, RUS will sponsor other industry and government representatives to discuss various topics in renewable energy resources. These presentations should be very helpful in evaluating available and emerging technology in this important field. For information, contact Sharon Ashurst, sashurst@rus.usda.gov or 202-720-1925.
The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) sponsored the Biomass Interest Group meetings on November 15 and 16, 2001 at the World Bank. The meetings were held in the ICF building at 2121 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. and included presentations by representatives from the World Bank, national laboratories, utilities, and governments. For more information about the work and future meetings, contact Evan Hughes at 650-855-2179, or by e-mail to ehughes@epri.com
Strategic Research Institute sponsors a number of conferences on various topics. Among their energy related topics are Coal Bed Methane (CBM), Renewable Energy Initiatives, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), and Wind Power. Visit http://www.srintitute.com/cr215 for information.
NREL has developed a renewable energy analysis program. Visit http://www.nrel.gov/reasn for information.
Steps to developing a cooperative can be found at http://www.energy-co-op.net. This provides an excellent outline for setting up a business.
The following State Solar Centers provide helpful information on photovoltaics and solar applications:
EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP) provides assistance to facilitate and promote the use of landfill gas as a renewable energy source. Information can be found at http://www.epa.gov/lmop/.
This database is an ongoing project of the Interstate Renewables Energy Council (IREC), funded by the U.S. Dept. of Energy Office of Power Technology and managed by the North Carolina Solar Center. Located at the North Carolina State University, the NC Solar Center is a program of the College of Engineering's Industrial Extension Service. The site provides useful information by State on incentives and regulatory policy regarding the use of renewable energy sources. The database can be found at http://www.ies.ncsu.edu/dsire. |
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Additional information and resources may be found in the sites listed on the pages below. However, we are not responsible for the accuracy of the content of non-Rural Development sites, nor should links to these sites be construed as our endorsement of the views (or products) contained therein.
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