Dakota Rural Action is launching a campaign that will help all of South Dakota move forward on two goals many of our members and a lot of people in South Dakota care about—greater self-reliance and affordable clean energy.
From groundwork done by DRA’s energy committee over the past three years, this campaign has grown up. Now, your financial support can put it into motion. Please take a minute to learn about the campaign and donate today HERE.
So far, we have–
- Spread the word throughout South Dakota by holding meetings with national experts detailing practical ways you can reduce your electricity bill.
- Held an Energy Fair in Brookings where people could talk directly with contractors and energy auditors. Homeowners and farmers took part in a series of workshops that gave specific knowledge on how-to projects for lowering energy costs.
- Met with leading state government officials, including Governor Daugaard, to reinforce the need for more development of locally owned renewable energy and greater energy efficiency. (Gov. Daugaard himself has built a super-efficient home).
- Met with representatives from President Obama’s White House staff demanding that the federal government do more to encourage innovation and development of small scale renewable energy and energy efficiency technology.
- Highlighted five of our members who are leading by example to reduce their energy bills. You can see all member featurettes and videos HERE.
What we need to do.
South Dakota is woefully lacking in the development of locally owned energy. This mostly is due to unnecessary barriers preventing local South Dakotans from investing in sustainable energy production. DRA’s energy committee has made it their goal to remove these barriers that are preventing South Dakotans from becoming more self-reliant.
First, the committee is demanding a more fair payment structure for people that want to build their own renewable energy systems. This can be done by passing net metering legislation.
- Net metering is a simple way to be fairly paid for the energy you produce.
- Net metering allows for more clean energy to be put into the grid.
How net metering works: Households with renewable energy systems, or those owning a part in a larger system, sometimes produce more electricity than they consume. Net metering allows credits of the excess electricity produced each month to be applied to the following month’s utility bill, replacing electricity otherwise purchased from a utility. The idea is comparable to how roll-over minutes are applied in cell phone plans.
South Dakota, with plenty of wind and sun, is one of only four states without any net metering policy.
How your support helps.
We have set a goal of raising $ 3,000 from our members in the next four months to help move this campaign and issue forward. This is a grassroots effort and we need support from across the state informing people about the benefits of net metering and inviting them to join us in working on a cohesive plan specifically for South Dakota and our legislature.
With enough support from residents, net metering will become a reality! Help take South Dakota off the list of four states without net-metering and forward to a more self-reliant, renewable energy future.
Please consider donating $50 today to Dakota Rural Actions energy campaign. Your money will go directly to help strengthen our power. Donate online.
For more information or to donate your time, please consider joining the DRA energy committee by contacting Luke Temple at luket@dakotarural.org or 605.697.5204.