The NASEO Rural Energy Working Group meets on a quarterly basis in the form of educational webinars and forums; depending on the topic, these engagements may be open to all NASEO members or by invitation only. These meetings provide an opportunity for peer-sharing and information exchange by bringing in expert speakers from the private sector, federal government, and rural communities to share insights.

Through the Rural Energy Working Group, State Energy Officials can explore fellow state approaches to rural energy access and clean energy deployment; identify opportunities and impediments (technical and non-technical); identify and express state priorities and interests; inform policy, planning, programs, and regulation; consider unregulated and member-driven electric sector investments and implications; and advance road map and pilot options.

Staff Contacts

Kelsey Jones Kelsey Jones Program Director

Kelsey Jones

Program Director

Kelsey Jones supports NASEO's electricity program by conducting research and analysis on a variety of state electricity policy and program issues including energy storage, microgrids, carbon management, and hydrogen. Prior to NASEO, Ms. Jones worked at the Nuclear Energy Institute assisting the political affairs and advocacy programs and as a graduate research assistant studying renewable energy development in Arctic cities. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Florida and a Master of Environmental Resource Policy from the George Washington University.

Jasmine Xie Jasmine Xie Senior Program Manager

Jasmine Xie

Senior Program Manager

Jasmine Xie supports NASEO’s buildings program, where she works on policy and program development for states on topics including public school facilities, residential energy labeling, grid-interactive efficient buildings, advanced building construction, and resilience. Prior to NASEO, she worked at ICF, where she supported EPA’s ENERGY STAR Program for Commercial Buildings, and the City of Cambridge on administering their annual Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance. She has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and environmental studies from Swarthmore College.

Coming Soon

NASEO Rural Energy Working Group Webinar: Bioenergy Market and Policy Overview for States
September 19, 2025, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. ET 
  • The 2025 Q3 Rural Energy Working Group Meeting kicked off a series of educational webinars on bioenergy, exploring federal programs and resources as well as how states can drive economic development opportunities, emerging research and development, and comprehensive state energy planning around bioenergy.
NASEO Rural Energy Working Group Webinar: State Roles in Bolstering Agricultural Energy Efficiency
April 29, 2025, 4:00 – 5:00 PM ET
  • This NASEO Rural Energy Working Group webinar featured presentations from state agencies in Oregon, New York, and Colorado about boosting agricultural energy efficiency through end-to-end grant and technical assistance programs. Panelists discussed state initiatives to develop educational materials, assist in grant writing and identifying stackable incentives or funding, and providing no-cost site audits to inform future resources and programming.
NASEO Rural Energy Working Group Webinar: Building Capacity and Energy Investments for Rural Communities
January 14, 2025, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
  • This webinar featured presentations from Climate United and the Appalachian Regional Commission on their organizations’ initiatives to financially support and build capacity among rural communities for energy development, transition, and resilience. The speakers shared insights into how State Energy Offices could support this work and approaches to engaging underserved communities.
NASEO-IEDC State Clean Energy-Based Economic Development Working Group Meeting (State and Territory Energy Offices and Economic Development Organizations Only)
October 28, 2024, 2:00-3:15 p.m. ET
  • NASEO and IEDC's State Clean Energy-Based Economic Development Working Group convened a joint meeting, in partnership with NASEO’s Rural Energy Working Group, focused on rural workforce development and supporting clean energy development in rural areas. The State Clean Energy-Based Economic Development Working Group, jointly facilitated by NASEO and the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), brings together State Energy Offices and state and regional Economic Development Organizations to strategize on common priorities, learn from experts, and share best practices to promote clean energy-related economic development and maximize the potential of federal clean energy investments.
NASEO Rural Energy Working Group Meeting (States, Territories, and Affiliates Only)
July 17, 2024, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET
  • The NASEO Rural Energy Working Group relaunched with its first quarterly meeting of 2024 to present the objectives and mission of the Working Group. The Working Group will address key issues impacting energy use on rural lands and agricultural operations. Key focus areas include options for renewable energy development on rural lands, efficient energy and water use in agricultural operations, and geographic equity in developing energy efficiency programming. This meeting also welcomed remarks from several states on relevant partnerships and funding available from the federal government to advance rural energy priorities and support communities.
NASEO-NARUC Microgrids State Working Group Webinar: Improving Energy Resilience with Rural and Remote Microgrids
May 7, 2024, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET
  • The NASEO-NARUC Microgrids State Working Group and NASEO Rural Working Group convened a webinar on microgrids in rural and remote areas. Microgrids are an important avenue for improving resilience, reliability, and decarbonization in rural and remote communities and states are key leaders in facilitating RD&D of those projects. This webinar featured presentations on state initiatives, coordination with rural electric cooperatives and rural and remote communities, and specific projects under development.
NASEO Rural Energy Working Group Webinar: Agrivoltaics - The Benefits and Potential of Dual Use Solar on Agricultural Lands
Tuesday, November 14, 2023, 2:00 – 3:00 pm ET
  • Agrivoltaics (solar generation systems co-located on farmland) avoid disruptive land use, help productive agricultural land remain operational while preserving the natural environment, and allow farmers and ranchers to diversify their income. Several states are exploring the ability of agrivoltaics to simultaneously support food production, land conservation, and energy production, and incentives, programs, and policies that can accelerate research and construction of agrivoltaics. This webinar featured presentations from Jordan Macknick of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Grace Fletcher of the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources, and Samantha Levy of the American Farmland Trust on some of these activities and provide an opportunity for states to better understand the technology and what role it can play in their agricultural communities. Preceding the webinar, NASEO held a states-only meeting of the Rural Working Group from 1:30 - 2:00 pm ET to discuss the webinar topic in more detail, along with doing a round robin of state rural energy topic priorities.
NASEO Rural Energy Working Group Webinar: Carbon Sequestration in the Agricultural Sector: Challenges and Opportunities
August 15, 2023, 3:00 – 4:00 pm ET 
  • Farmers and ranchers have an opportunity to manage sector wide and nationwide greenhouse gas emissions through soil carbon sequestration. States, the federal government, and the private sector are advancing soil carbon sequestration through incentives, technical assistance, and data collection, which presents an economic development opportunity for rural areas and agricultural stakeholders. This webinar provided information on the process for carbon sequestration in soil, the benefits and challenges, and practitioner perspectives from experts at the Iowa State University, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Western Sustainability Exchange. Following the webinar, NASEO held a states-only meeting of the Rural Working Group from 4:00 – 4:30 pm ET to discuss the webinar topic in more detail along with other rural priorities.
NASEO Rural Energy Working Group Webinar: State Energy Office Approaches to the Energy-Agriculture Nexus
June 8, 2023
  • The intersection between the energy and agriculture sectors is being explored across the country as states look for opportunities to support clean energy, lower costs, and increase resilience along the agricultural value chain. Farmers and ranchers can leverage funding opportunities (e.g., programs through the U.S. Department of Agriculture) to deploy such strategies as agricultural facility and equipment energy efficiency improvements, energy and water efficient growing and harvesting technologies, soil-based carbon sequestration, and clean energy deployment. This webinar featured presentations from Abigail Hasenfus of the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources and Kari Heinrich of the Wisconsin Public Service Commission Office of Energy Innovation that discussed programs that engage rural and agricultural communities, along with success stories and challenges.
NASEO Webinar: Fostering Economic Diversification in Coal Communities
June 15, 2023
  • State and local governments are exploring a variety of pathways to foster economic diversification in coal communities across the country through just transition roadmaps, state-local task forces, and targeted grant and workforce training programs. These efforts and partnerships will help identify and provide alternative revenue streams to local communities and support the transition to a more decarbonized economy. During this webinar, speakers shared insights and resources on successes and challenges in identifying economic diversification opportunities on the state, local, and federal level.