The following overview of HCE’s Founder’s Stewardship Award was written in Walking Mountains’ Taste of Nature program on July 7, 2022
In recognition of its leadership at the local, state, and national levels towards a clean energy future as well as its achievements in education and inspiration for individuals and businesses to reach ambitious goals in climate action.
Holy Cross Energy (HCE) is leading the responsible transition to a clean energy future by providing safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and services that improve the quality of life for their members and their communities. HCE’s 100×30 goal of providing 100% clean energy to their members by 2030 (and completely offsetting their greenhouse gas emissions by 2035) may be the most ambitious climate reduction goal amongst electric cooperatives nationwide.
Beyond providing electricity, HCE is energizing our community towards a sustainable future. Its rebate programs range from e-bikes to lawn care and electric vehicle charging equipment, and the community can learn from the experts at Kilowatt Talks, covering a range of energy-related topics. President & CEO Bryan Hannegan, Ph.D. took the helm in 2017. Prior to joining Holy cross in July 2017, Bryan was an Associate Laboratory Directory at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), where he co-founded the US Department of Energy’s Grid Modernization Initiative and started up the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF), a unique “distribution grid in a box” enabling utilities, entrepreneurs and consumers to work together on cleaner, more affordable and more reliable energy systems. During his tenure, Holy Cross Energy has been recognized as the Electric Cooperative of the Year in 2020 by the Smart Electric Power Alliance and just last month with the 2022 Grid Innovator Award by GridForward.
