We build unlikely alliances to put power back in the hands of the rural folks who grow our food and can power our country with clean energy.

It is time to re-think the economic model of solar and wind.

America is on the cusp of building out the next 100 years of energy with wind and solar playing a major role. Rural America has the land needed to build wind and solar projects that can bring energy freedom to our country.

We need to make sure rural people are at the table to make decisions about the projects with fair zoning, protected property rights, good-paying union jobs, Community Benefit Agreements and an American Energy Dividend. We deserve to build wealth with the projects being built in our towns. Rural America feeds the world. We can also power America.

Opposition to renewable energy is spreading rapidly across rural communities.

While we are seeing opposition at the local level in our rural towns, the vast majority of rural Americans support clean energy as a way for us to diversify our energy base, keep energy costs low for families and to bring jobs and wealth to our towns.

The problem is the majority of education and organizing around clean energy has happened in the cities. It is time for rural folks to organize ourselves for the future we want to see in our towns.

As we enter a phase of building massive amounts of clean energy to diversify our energy sources and answer the climate crisis, we must ensure the rural communities are at the table and not left behind in terms of planning, wealth creation and decision making.

We can transform the energy landscape of our country where everyone benefits — not just a few at the top. We can flip the script on how we solve climate change by creating a new organizing and economic model to build wealth in our rural towns while powering America.