Groundswell Launches First-ever Rural Renaissance Roadshow,
Coming October 25-27, 2023, to Bentonville AR
Three-day conference will feature education, inspiration, and practical technical support to help small towns and rural communities get their projects funded and built
Washington, DC, Aug. 10, 2023 – As America moves forward with its biggest investment in rural power in 100 years, Groundswell announces its first-ever Rural Renaissance Roadshow, to take place from October 25-27 in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The roadshow will feature practical workshops on topics ranging from how agrivoltaics can help farmers produce food and solar power to how clean energy supports main street economic development, with sessions designed to equip rural leaders with the information and practical technical support that communities need to get local projects funded and built.
“Rural communities have more at stake than just land for big clean energy projects,” commented Michelle Moore, Groundswell CEO and author of Rural Renaissance. “We can’t build a Made-in-America clean energy future without rural jobs, business opportunities, and real energy savings for families.”
While the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included billions of dollars for rural resilience, clean power, and other infrastructure projects, rural communities and the small utilities and municipal governments that serve them often lack the staff and technical capacity to fill out the funding applications. Additionally, decades of outmigration and persistent poverty create additional barriers to project implementation, though these same characteristics make rural communities a priority for federal investment.
Groundswell is bringing rural leaders together from across the U.S. with local clean energy innovators and technical support providers for three days of educational and “roll-up-your- sleeves” work sessions.
“Our vision for the Rural Renaissance Roadshow is that rural leaders can bring their vision and leave with the partners and resources they need to get it built,” added Michelle.
The conference program is informed by Rural Renaissance: Revitalizing America’s Hometowns through Clean Power, published by Island Press in August 2022. The book offers a practical roadmap for local leaders to develop projects ranging from energy efficiency and solar to EVs
and broadband.
Conference registration for the Rural Renaissance Roadshow is $75 and includes all meals, including the opening night celebration at Crystal Bridges, Bentonville’s renowned museum. Travel scholarships are available for attendees representing communities with a population of
less than 20,000 residents.
Please visit RuralRenaissance.com for additional information and to register.
About Michelle Moore, CEO, Groundswell
Michelle Moore is the author of Rural Renaissance and CEO of Groundswell. A social entrepreneur and former White House official with roots in rural Georgia, Michelle is a relentless agent for change. Her accomplishments range from cutting the government’s energy bill by $11 billion and deploying 3.2 Gigawatts of new renewable energy for President Barack Obama to developing LEED into a globally recognized brand for USGBC. Michelle also serves as a Senate-confirmed member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors and as Secretary of the Board for the Interdenominational Theological Center. Her work is rooted in her faith and the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
About Groundswell
Groundswell builds community power with clean energy that reduces energy burdens and electricity bills with solar, resilience centers, energy efficiency, and pioneering project finance strategies and research that puts people first. Groundswell is a national leader working locally in five states, serving more than 6,000 low to moderate-income households with clean energy and approximately $500 per year each in savings.
