News > Powering Good: Sustainability at Great River Energy

Powering Good: Sustainability at Great River Energy

December 11, 2024

Great River Energy – Stearns Electric Association’s wholesale power provider – is committed to serving its member-owner cooperatives with reliable and affordable energy in harmony with a sustainable environment.

As a member-owned cooperative, Great River Energy is uniquely positioned to champion sustainability, driven by a commitment to members, communities and the environment. Great River Energy remains dedicated to continuous improvement, fostering innovation and collaborating with its member-owner cooperatives to build a more sustainable future, together.

This dedication is evident through Great River Energy’s solid environmental and governance policies and practices and its commitment to community. The seven cooperative principles guide electric cooperatives to operate differently from other electric utilities, putting the needs of their members first. These principles have always been a foundation for the leadership and employees at Great River Energy.

BALANCED POWER SUPPLY PORTFOLIO
By 2035, Great River Energy’s retail electric sales will be 90% carbon free and carbon emissions will be more than 90% reduced from 2005 base levels. This puts the cooperative in a position to comply with the requirements of Minnesota’s carbon-free standard. Great River Energy’s power supply portfolio is a balanced and cost-effective mix of three main components: wind power purchase agreements, peaking generation resources, and a capacity and energy hedge contract with Rainbow Energy Center. The portfolio is supplemented by the cooperative’s robust demand-response programs that support its portfolio of carbon-free energy resources by reducing the peak demand on the system at times of highest grid stress.

CLEAN ENERGY FUNDING
Great River Energy was among the cooperatives recently announced as a finalist for the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program. The program aims to support rural electric cooperatives in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by transitioning to clean energy sources. A consortium of Great River Energy and its member-owners have advanced past the competition stage and are currently in the underwriting and negotiation phase of the New ERA program, bringing them one step closer to receiving funding.

COMMUNITY COMMITMENT
Great River Energy demonstrates its commitment to the community by contributing to nonprofit organizations, spending dollars locally, scholarship programs, and sponsoring events that bring people together. The cooperative also works with its member-owners to attract and retain business activity and jobs where its members live. The cooperative routinely donates more than 2% of its earnings to charitable causes between in-kind and monetary contributions. In 2023, these donations amounted to $999,513.

For 25 years Great River Energy has delivered on its commitment to sustainability and will continue to do so for the benefit of its member-owner cooperatives and the communities they serve. Learn more at greatriverenergy.com/sustainability