Strategy & Planning

Renewables Boost GDP Without Harming Farm Output, Employment, Wages: “According to the first research study released by the Center for Rural Energy Security at the University of Missouri, renewable energy and agriculture can co-exist without harming rural economies.”

“We’re used to the lessons that history teaches of Yellow Fever outbreaks or Malaria due to the wet breeding grounds of swamps and standing water for mosquitoes, not dry weather conditions causing disease.”

“We should avoid framing this as a choice between infrastructure and affordability. The real challenge is determining which investments produce the greatest customer value over time.”

Puerto Rico offers a timely setting for the NARUC 2026 Annual Meeting and Education Conference in November, serving as a real-world case study for utility infrastructure reliability and resilience nearly a decade after major hurricanes devastated the island. The conference will address challenges of affordability, rapid infrastructure deployment, meeting customer needs, and much more.

“American businesses need stable regulatory environments to ensure they have an opportunity to engage in international commerce. That has been an important part of the basis of the NARUC International Program for decades.”

“Different countries have different solutions. I love that the International Committee provides the opportunity to talk directly to folks and create a space where we can understand what new technologies are available.”

“These countries that our first project dealt with in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union were going through massive political change, opening to more democratic processes and transparency.”

NARUC’s Committee on International Relations has provided help and best practices for almost thirty years as energy market development needs grew overseas. The Committee manages NARUC’s outreach activities across the globe, including partnerships with numerous countries. PUF’s Paul Kjellander spoke with NARUC Senior Director of Professional Development Erin Hammel, Committee on International Relations Chair and Nevada Commissioner Tammy Cordova, and NARUC Executive Director Tony Clark.

When we set aside regional silos and look across the map with genuine curiosity, we discover that grid operators, regulators, and technology partners half a world away are testing practical solutions to the very challenges sitting on our own desks.

“In many respects, the next breakthrough for advanced nuclear may not be the reactor itself, but how the sector delivers it.”