Wolverine Power Cooperative needed a big play.

The Cadillac, Michigan-based generation and transmission co-op is facing a state mandate for electric utilities to transition to 100% carbon-free generation by 2040.

Michigan currently gets around 20% or more of its energy from the state's coal-fired plants, which will retire rapidly in the next decade.

And regional demand for power, like in many parts of the U.S., is surging from an influx of returning manufacturing, new electric vehicle load, power-hungry data centers and a wave of new residents.

Wolverine's leadership was mulling solar energy and other renewable projects, “because that's pretty much all we can build in Michigan," says President and CEO Eric Baker. “[But] the New ERA grant opportunity inspired us to think way bigger than that."

It was bigger thinking that led them—and their partner, Bloomington, Indiana-based Hoosier Energy—to commit to a long-term power purchase agreement, paving the way for Holtec International to restart the idled 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan. Once completed, the project will represent the first time in U.S. history that a mothballed utility-scale nuclear facility will have been recommissioned.

“This is a project that's getting state attention, national attention and global attention, quite literally," Baker says. “It's important for reliability. It's important for affordability and decarbonization obligations."

Wolverine and Hoosier's move is being lauded as a marquee project for the entire power sector amid a broadening and accelerating energy transition. But it is by no means the only example of electric cooperative innovation and creativity, as the industry morphs, driven by new technologies, new customer demands and billions in federal and state infrastructure loans and grants.

“Electric co-ops are constantly working to embrace new local solutions, strengthen America's electric grid and meet the needs of their members," says NRECA CEO Jim Matheson. “This approach is especially important as the nation depends on electricity to power more of the economy and as the demand for electricity surges for the first time in decades."

Baker says Wolverine and Hoosier are tapping into the historic independence, problem-solving, local control and member focus that have been the hallmark of co-ops since their start.

“I think we created something that will have legacy benefits," he says. “It could never have happened outside of the cooperative space. I firmly believe that."

'Next-Generation Solutions'

Like the Palisades restart, many innovative co-op initiatives are getting a boost from unprecedented federal funding in recent years, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture's $9.7 billion Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program.

Co-ops are also innovating with traditional baseload resources. Minnkota Power Cooperative was tapped to receive a New ERA award for its Project Tundra carbon capture and storage project in North Dakota and to procure 370 MW of wind energy in the state. Project Tundra also won funding in October through the U.S. Department of Energy's CarbonSAFE Initiative.

If completed, Project Tundra would be one of the largest carbon capture projects in the world, sequestering up to 4 million metric tons of CO2 emissions annually from the Milton R. Young coal-fired power plant.

“Co-ops are committed to driving innovation by investing in new technologies that will shape the future of energy," says Angela Strickland, NRECA's senior vice president of Business and Technology Strategies. “By leveraging the cooperative model, they are focusing on next-generation solutions to deliver unparalleled value to their members and communities by continuing to provide safe, affordable and reliable energy."

Early Movers

In many cases, co-ops are first or among the first to test these solutions.

Maple Grove, Minnesota-based Great River Energy is partnering on a project to pilot Form Energy's long-duration iron-air battery technology. The system, which runs on the chemical reaction between iron and oxygen, is designed to store up to 100 hours of electricity that can be released over days rather than hours, like more widely deployed lithium-ion batteries.

The Cambridge Energy Storage Project will be the first commercial deployment of Form Energy's technology. It could benefit not just GRE but demonstrate a potential option for other co-ops trying to integrate renewable resources in areas that may lack sustained or predictable wind and sun power output.

“It's really important to us from the perspective of reliability and keeping the lights on that storage assets can contribute to multi-day reliability events," says Zac Ruzycki, GRE's director of resource planning. The duration of iron-air batteries is “far in excess of what the rest of the market provides today," he says.

“For years, four-hour lithium-ion storage has been sufficient, because it's been implemented in places like California, the East Coast, places that have narrower needs on reliability. For us in the North, we have much longer reliability events."

The battery will be installed in 2025. Results of the pilot project will be used in the co-op's planning models to determine future resource decisions.

“When we think about cooperative innovation, it's not just technological innovation—it's thinking about the future of the markets, what the market needs, [and] what do we need to keep the lights on," Ruzycki says. “Adding something like this is a demonstration of concept. It really creates an efficiency, and what we're trying to do is understand how something like this can work with our existing resource mix … to ensure reliability, which is of course at the forefront of what we do, while still maintaining affordability."

Another co-op in the state, Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative, is also finding highly localized ways to improve service to members.

The Jordan-based distribution co-op is designing a microgrid project that will rely on rooftop solar panels in tribal communities to charge a 2-4 MWh battery at an MVEC substation. The project is distinct from many other solar-plus-storage projects where the generation and battery assets are located at the same site, according to MVEC Vice President of Operations and Power Supply Michael Dietz.

“This particular substation is in a very urban area, making it very challenging to get transmission there," says Dietz. “This is a good opportunity to add reliability to better serve our members in that area."

The project was selected for an award under the DOE's Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) Program, created through the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021. MVEC is looking to start construction in 2026, with full operations potentially beginning in late 2027 or early 2028.

Upgrading the Grid

Recent estimates indicate the U.S. will need to replace some 200,000 miles of aging transmission lines in the next decade at the same time as growing demand drives the need for even more high-voltage capacity.

It's a dilemma some co-ops see as a chance to upgrade their systems rather than rebuild them. Great River Energy, for instance, has added Heimdall Power's dynamic line rating (DLR) technology to several of its power lines across Minnesota. DLR systems involve adding sensors to measure temperature and other data on a power line and better rate how much energy can travel along the line.

In terms of creating value for co-op members, “with one or two congestion events, it's pretty easy to get a return on your investment financially but DLR can also add some reliability to your line by measuring system conditions," Craig says.

An NRECA Research consortium of 12 electric co-ops led by Georgia Transmission was tapped in October 2024 to receive nearly $98 million for transmission projects through the DOE's Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) program.

The money, also provided by the bipartisan infrastructure law, will fund the Smart Technology for Advanced Resilient Transmission (START) project. The initiative will help co-ops upgrade or build new transmission lines, with many of the projects incorporating advanced overhead conductors (AOHC).

Advanced conductors can increase electric capacity compared with traditional conductors, which may address right-of-way and permitting challenges for transmission projects.

Advanced conductors are also lighter than traditional steel-based alternatives. Their lower weight and reduced thermal expansion diminish sag on power lines, potentially enabling co-ops to install fewer or shorter support structures across their system.

Only two co-ops have deployed the technology so far. But AOHC could play a role in expanding the grid and more efficiently deploying both renewable and traditional energy resources.

“You can increase the transmission capacity of existing lines and ... limit the requirements or need to build new lines," says Gary Sibilant, a program manager at the EPRI, which is working with the consortium to determine which lines are suitable for AOHC. “Reconductoring can be done in a fairly short period of time relative to building a new line."

One of the START projects will allow Northern Rio Arriba Electric Cooperative in New Mexico to finish rebuilding the only supply line for its entire distribution system. The Chama-based co-op will use AOHC to rebuild the 69-kilovolt line, which crosses rough terrain through national forest.

Another START project will upgrade Polk County Rural Public Power District's transmission system, which was built over 70 years ago when electricity first came to rural Nebraska.

The Stromsburg, Nebraska-based utility will complete a transmission loop covering its entire service territory, providing redundant power to all its substations.

The project will incorporate AOHC, which is expected to limit energy losses and benefit over half of Polk County RPPD's customers, General Manager Barb Fowler says.

“Project participants will eventually share guidelines on AOHC usage and case reports from individual projects with the industry. The START project embodies the cooperative principles of cooperation and concern for the community," says Barbara Hampton, president and CEO of Tucker, Georgia-based Georgia Transmission. Project partners “will use this investment to help improve electric resiliency and increased capacity in our respective rural communities."

The START project mirrors a broader trend of co-ops meeting the needs of their members in new and creative ways. While legacy generation and transmission assets are crucial to affordable and reliable service, co-ops are finding innovative solutions to satisfy growing demand while keeping costs down and lowering emissions.

“From nuclear energy advancements to carbon capture projects and renewables to transmission improvements," says Matheson, “co-ops keep all options on the table as they focus on what makes sense for their communities."