Dear Friends of the MREA,
As a supporter of MREA, I’m guessing you were likely paying attention to energy issues over the last year. If you were, you’ll know it was a historic year for federal and state energy policy action.
Most notable was the list of energy provisions in the federal Inflation Reduction Act. When summed with the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS Act, last year delivered the largest energy infrastructure investment in U.S. history. When paired with state actions in the Midwest, this positions us for a dramatic shift that will fundamentally change how we produce and use energy. If implemented correctly, the energy transition will increase access to energy-saving investments and broadly deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits. For us at MREA, this vision has been 32 years in the making, and we can see it more clearly than ever.
At the MREA, we didn’t lobby for this legislation. Instead, we’ve been preparing the market to make the most of the opportunity. Our role has never been more critical. To make the most of this historic opportunity, we will need to increase training and recruitment to meet workforce needs, expand public education to help consumers navigate a complex market, and focus our community engagement and technical assistance to help communities and institutions advance clean energy projects and programs that provide the greatest local benefit. This will help grow much-needed support for local clean energy development.
In this annual report, you will see the results of our efforts over the past year. Through our training, workforce partnerships, Rise Up scholarships, Grow Solar programs, The Energy Fair, and expansive member networks, we have been working to make sure the market reality meets and exceeds our policy expectations. We owe these successes to your support. To meet the needs of a growing and complex market, we will need your continued support.
Rise Up!
Nick Hylla, Executive Director
Help make the most of this historic opportunity in 2023! Support solar solutions by making a tax-deductible gift to the MREA today: