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Inflation Reduction Act Communications

In the latest iteration of this REC scorecard, CURE added an important new survey category: Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) communications. The IRA makes historic investments in RECs and member-owners NEED to know what these new programs and federal funds mean for the future of their co-ops and rural communities. 

The New ERA (Empowering Rural America) program allocates $9.7 billion in funding for new renewable generation projects in the REC sector, with an additional $1 billion in loan forgiveness to retire fossil fuel infrastructure and invest in renewable energy generation. The IRA’s suite of REC clean energy programs is the single largest investment in rural electrification in U.S. history.  

CURE is fighting tirelessly to help ensure the New ERA program is equitably implemented and deployed, which could mean huge awards for generation & transmission (G&T) cooperatives that serve Minnesota RECs.   

Minnesota’s 100% Carbon Free Electricity by 2040 law makes aggressive and needed cuts to the state’s carbon emissions. CURE is committed to decarbonizing the REC sector. Creating high-impact carbon reductions will put our state’s member-owners at the front of a national movement to transition energy generation to clean and renewable sources. Funding available in the IRA eases the energy transition by giving RECs the opportunity to retire aging and depreciating coal assets and construct new renewable baseload generation; all the while, RECs would be preserving the affordability and reliability of their energy service to member-owners.

Self-reporting

CURE also recognizes that RECs make more information available to their member-owners through private portals on their websites accessible only with an account. Board minutes, director contact, and other critical transparency information can be tucked away in the back of a newsletter or an annual membership packet that CURE won’t see. RECs should have the opportunity to include those materials if they wish. We encouraged RECs to self-report data based on our criteria so that all RECs efforts could be counted towards their final score.   

Co-ops self-reporting scorecard information to CURE also serves as a mechanism to gauge how co-ops engage with us. As the scorecard is replicated and refined, we hope to see a growing relationship between REC governance and CURE’s engagement with RECs and their member-owners. 

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Kelsey Olson

Kelsey Olson

Director of Environmental Stewardship

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Kelsey Olson (she/her) joined CURE in 2025 as its Director of Environmental Stewardship. As a skilled environmental naturalist, Kelsey’s work focuses broadly on environmental education and advocacy with a keen focus on rural land use and how that use impacts our environment and climate. Working Lands, how land is used to support agriculture and forestry, is a key focus of her work. She brings 15 years’ experience in public communication, environmental education, and rural community engagement – strong communication strategies are core in her work. This includes two terms of service with AmeriCorps in the VISTA program in Oregon and Maryland and a nearly 10-year career as a naturalist followed. She recently worked on communications and marketing for rural economic development.

Kelsey lives in New London, MN, with her young children, husband, dog, and two cats. They enjoy spending time together outside and finding small treasures in nature. Visits to Minneapolis often include visits to one of their favorite historical museums, the Minnesota Swedish Institute. Kelsey enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, whether this is canning local produce, making kombucha, or other treats!