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Looking Toward the Future

As the Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative meets the needs of the 21st century, it has continued to be innovative and pioneering as it was in its formative years. In 2005, the IREC completed a 1.65 megawatt wind turbine in Pike County, becoming the first co-op in Illinois to complete such a project and winning a U.S. Department of Energy “Wind Cooperative of the Year” award. This project was built to not only provide power for the cooperative, but to explore the viability of similar projects in Pike County and encourage wind development for the area. In 2014, IREC held a ribbon cutting ceremony for its newly completed solar power plant located south of Winchester. It features 2,223 solar panels and is able to generate about 500 kilowatts, reducing $75,000 in electricity costs every year. Along with Prairie Power’s renewable energy plants, IREC is able to provide 14 percent of its peak demand with renewables.

As the internet has become an essential part of our economy and daily lives, the IREC has kept pace with improving technologies and infrastructure. In 1998, the cooperative began offering internet service to its members. Dial-up internet connected through a phone line was much slower than today’s standards. In 2006, the cooperative began offering wireless broadband internet, using towers to send wireless signals at much higher speeds. Today, the cooperative operates over 40 wireless broadband towers across 5 counties. In 2016, IREC began installing fiber optic cable to provide high-speed internet to its cooperative members, providing internet that compares to many major cities.

These communication improvements not only provide a necessary service to its members, but ensures the electric grid operates safely and efficiently. Smart grid technologies help monitor electricity use, identify problems and outages, and enable automation and improved security of our electrical grid. Smart meters allow customers to better control their electric use and incorporate small-scale generators and renewables such as solar panels for an efficient and more resilient power grid. As the needs of our community have changed and progressed, the Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative has continued to innovate for over 80 years. When leaders came together in 1936 in hopes of improving the lives of rural people left in the dark, they began a legacy of service that endures today.