009: Innovation and Public Entrepreneurship: Building Community Wealth Through Cooperatives (with Keith Taylor - UC Davis)

Co-Op Heroes: Stories from Electric Utility Operators

In this episode of The Co-Op Heroes podcast, host Pablo Fuentes sits down with Keith Taylor, Professor of Economic Development at UC Davis and self-described "People's Professor," to explore how electric cooperatives are leading innovation in rural America.

Keith shares the remarkable story of Anza Electric Cooperative in Southern California, which defied industry experts who claimed rural broadband deployment was impossible at reasonable costs. While incumbent telcos insisted it would cost $300,000 per mile to lay fiber, Anza accomplished the same task for just $30,000 per mile, a 90% cost reduction that has inspired cooperatives and community choice aggregators across the country.

Key Insights Discussed:

• How Anza Electric overcame infrastructure challenges by combining microgrid development with fiber deployment
• The concept of "public entrepreneurship" and why cooperatives fill gaps left by government and private enterprise
• Why cooperatives consistently deliver better local economic impact than investor-owned utilities
• The role of cooperatives as "classrooms and incubators of democracy"
• Emerging opportunities in distributed data centers and digital public infrastructure

Academic Perspective: Drawing from his book "Governing the Wind Energy Commons" and extensive fieldwork, Keith explains how cooperatives create community wealth, overcome political divisions, and provide stability in essential services. He discusses his research comparing cooperative-owned versus investor-owned wind farms.

Future Vision: The conversation explores Keith's work developing the Institute for Cooperative and Civic Innovation at UC Davis, which aims to foster international collaboration and help cooperatives compete in an increasingly concentrated economy. From platform cooperatives to employee stock ownership plans, Keith outlines how the cooperative model can address modern economic challenges.

This episode offers both inspiration from successful cooperative innovation and academic analysis of why the cooperative business model remains relevant in today's economy. Essential listening for anyone interested in rural development, cooperative theory, or community-driven solutions to economic challenges.

Contact Keith Taylor at [email protected] or learn more about his work at UC Davis's Institute for Cooperative and Civic Innovation.

Keith's book "Governing the Wind Energy Commons" can be found at https://wvupressonline.com/node/782

Other contacts and resources from this episode:

Kevin Short, General Manager, Anza Electric Cooperative - [email protected]

Shawn Trento, Telecommunications Manager, Anza Electric Cooperative - [email protected]

Jessica Nelson, General Manager of Golden State Power Cooperative - [email protected]

Gina Schaefer, Ace Hardware, https://ginaschaefer.com/

The Co-Op Heroes podcast brings you real stories from electric utility operators: the people who work around the clock to keep our communities powered.