Brady PieperThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing more than $7.3 billion in financing for rural electric cooperatives to develop clean energy in their communities. The 16 projects selected for funding represent the largest initiative in rural electrification since Franklin Roosevelt’s Rural Electrification Act of 1936.
The USDA anticipates over 20 percent of America’s rural population will see benefits from these projects.
The projects selected will be funded by the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program and will serve as its first round of awardees. The program, bolstered through the Inflation Reduction Act, will leverage private investments of over $29 billion to deliver clean energy solutions across rural America. Projects in this first funding round aim to remove over 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gases annually—the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road. Other goals for the New ERA program include creating 4,500 permanent and 16,000 construction jobs, attaining 10 gigawatts of clean energy and building 1,892 megawatt hours of battery storage.
Projects in the first round of funding will serve over 5 million rural homeowners across 23 states, including: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Among the notable projects is one involving Dairyland Power Cooperative, which will receive nearly $573 million in grant and loan funding to serve electrification initiatives in Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota. Representing the first finalized New ERA award, this investment will support Dairyland’s $2.1 billion plan to develop 1,080 megawatts of clean energy, including solar and wind power installations across its service area. The cooperative’s project is expected to reduce electric rates by an estimated 42% over the next decade. Dairyland’s initiative includes partnerships with labor organizations and will feature a Farmer Benefit Plan and Union Engagement Plan developed in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Serving Arizona, California, Nevada and New Mexico, the Arizona Electric Power Cooperative will receive funds from the New ERA program to implement 730 megawatts of solar energy, 2,910-megawatt hours of battery energy storage, and 70 megawatts of wind energy. These renewable energy initiatives will reduce pollution by more than one million tons across Arizona and the Southwest without sacrificing affordability or reliability for consumers.
Highlighting New ERA funds outside the continental borders, Alaska’s Golden Valley Electric Association will deliver up to 150 megawatts of renewable wind energy onto their system in rural communities. Projects will include creating a battery energy storage system and significant transmission infrastructure to improve the grid’s reliability. The association forecasts a reduction of over 460,000 tons of emissions, the creation of 300 short and long-term jobs and the stabilization of energy costs to rural consumers.
The New ERA program’s selection of 16 awardees marks a historic step in rural electrification, reflecting the USDA’s commitment to clean energy and economic growth in underserved areas. To see more information on all 16 selections, you can read the project announcement list.
Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
