Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy

Rural and Agricultural Income & Savings from Renewable Energy (RAISE) is a joint initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Energy (DOE) to help rural small businesses, farmers, and electric cooperatives cut costs and increase income using smaller-scale renewable energy projects and underutilized technologies, such as on-site, distributed wind turbines. 

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory—one of the DOE national laboratories supporting the initiative—leads the lab-based contributions to RAISE, managing and coordinating the research, analysis, and outreach for the initiative in collaboration with National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. 

In 2025, the labs will focus on the following tasks:

1. Analyzing and developing innovative business models for distributed wind deployment in rural and agricultural applications
2. Conducting supportive programmatic research, initiating technical assistance, and analyzing the market
3. Disseminating project findings to, engaging directly with, and supporting capacity building for RAISE partners and stakeholders.

As part of initial efforts, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory developed and published the Distributed Wind Guidebook: Agricultural Producers and Rural Small Business Owners. It is designed to support rural small businesses and agricultural producers in deciding whether distributed wind energy can support their electricity, resilience, financial, and environmental goals.