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From Monday, June 29 through Wednesday, July 1, 2026, the National Association of Counties’ Rural Energy Academy (REA) hosted a peer exchange in Grundy County, Illinois, bringing together county leaders from across the country for site visits and briefings centered on two pressing energy technologies facing rural communities today: nuclear power and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

On April 17, 2026, NADO’s Rural Energy Academy (REA) team hosted a post-conference session at the University of Texas JJ Pickle Research Campus following the Southwest Regional Economic Development Association (SWREDA) conference in Austin, TX. Economic Development District (EDD) leaders from Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas spent the afternoon hearing from researchers, practitioners, and community leaders on pressing energy topics facing rural communities today before embarking on a tour of the UT Energy Institute data center.