Great River Energy names Connett as Director, Environmental Stewardship & Member Services

Elk River, Minn. -- Gary Connett has been promoted to the newly created position of director of environmental stewardship and member services for Great River Energy.

Last summer, Great River Energy adopted new environmental stewardship goals, which the organization must balance with its member cooperatives’ needs for competitive rates and reliable electric service. The director position was created to elevate the visibility and importance of environmental stewardship in the organization and provide a direct connection to the member/owners of Great River Energy.

“Great River Energy has made the decision to act on the evidence that climate change is real by responding with energy resource solutions that support a sustainable environment,” Connett says. “My goal will be to ensure that environmental stewardship is the standard throughout our organization – to make sure that everything we do is judged by its impact on the environment. This can only be achieved in partnership with our member cooperatives and their customers.”

Great River Energy’s environmental stewardship goals include:

- Deriving 25 percent of resources from renewable energy by 2025.
- Reducing carbon dioxide emissions below 2000 levels by 2020.
- Considering conservation and energy efficiency efforts as a least-cost resource.

“We have set challenging environmental goals for our organization. We are convinced that not only is it the right thing to do, but it also makes good business sense,” says CEO David Saggau. “I am confident that Gary will lead our organization toward success. To do so, however, he will need the support of many within and outside our organization.”

Connett most recently served as Great River Energy’s manager, demand response/member services, responsible for managing and directing the organization’s demand response, conservation and energy efficiency programs, as well as overseeing business development. Connett has been with Great River Energy for more than 30 years.

Connett holds a bachelor’s of arts degree in organizational leadership from Bethel University, St. Paul, Minn., and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from St. Thomas University, St. Paul, Minn.

Connett is an active member of several organizations and commissions, including Powering the Plains, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of guiding principles and policies for transitioning to a renewable and carbon-neutral energy economy, and the National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency, a group of energy market leaders dedicated to the development of a national action plan for energy efficiency. Connett also sits on two city commissions: the city of Elk River’s Energy City Commission and the city of Champlin’s Environmental Resource Commission.

Great River Energy, Elk River, Minn. is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative providing electricity to 28 distribution cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin. It is the second largest power supplier in the state of Minnesota, and the fourth largest cooperative of its type in the nation.