Rural Energy Transitions
Rural areas are changing fast. And we’re studying how communities, utilities, and different businesses and organizations are coming together to shape the energy transition for the future. We’re especially interested how distributed energy resources — everything from electric water heaters to electric vehicles — can play a role in decarbonizing power and lead to better outcomes for rural peoples.
Current Projects
Electric Cooperative Innovation Center
ECIC is a partnership with the University of California, Davis, that partners with rural electric cooperatives as they engage in energy transition opportunities with their memberships.
Distributed Energy Resource Innovation Initiative
We are partnering with Great River Energy and other Minnesotan electric cooperatives to understand, over time, how rural energy transitions with distributed energy resources unfold.
Ongoing Tribal, Municipal, and Community Engagement
We’ve taught a class (and ran a field trip) on Tribal Energy Transitions. We’ve researched with municipal utilities around the state. We help out small cities and community groups. We’re always looking for more ideas.
Selected Publications
Grimley, Matthew, Anna Giesting, Sarah Komoroski, Gabriel Chan. 2024. “Processes of power: Transitions and justice of energy infrastructure in Minnesota.” Energy Research & Social Science 111: 103458.
Grimley, Matthew, Gabriel Chan. 2023. “‘Cooperative is an Oxymoron!’: A Polycentric Energy Transition Perspective on Distributed Energy Deployment in the Upper Midwestern United States.” Energy Policy 172: 113328.
Lenhart, Stephanie, Gabriel Chan, Lindsey Forsberg, Matthew Grimley, and Elizabeth Wilson. 2020. “Municipal Utilities and Electric Cooperatives in the United States: Interpretive Frames, Strategic Actions, and Place-Specific Transitions.” Environmental Innovation and Societal Transitions 36 (September): 17–33. doi:10.1016/j.eist.2020.04.006.
