The United States Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack has announced awards for more than $4.37 billion in clean energy investments through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program.
New ERA program is a result of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and the program funding is available to member-owned rural electric cooperatives. Rural electric cooperatives will use the funding to support jobs, lower electricity costs for businesses and families and reduce climate pollution each year.
Andy Berke, Rural Utilities Service Administrator, highlighted the new investments at the Ramsey, Minnesota, headquarters of Connexus Energy. Connexus will use nearly $170 million in New ERA grant funding to procure over 282 MW of renewable hydro, solar and wind energy.
The cooperative will also purchase 20 MW of battery energy storage. The projects will minimize costs for its members in rural Minnesota, support nearly 400 jobs and reduce climate pollution by more than 1.1 million tons each year.
USDA is awarding $4.37 billion in loans and grants to cooperatives based in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Texas. The investments will support about 5,000 jobs and reduce climate pollution by over 11 million tons each year.
For example:
- CORE Electric Cooperative will use a $225 million investment to procure 550 MW of wind and solar energy, and 100 MW of battery energy storage for rural communities in Colorado. The project is expected to support short- and long-term jobs, stabilize costs for members and help meet the state’s net-zero climate pollution goals.
- Georgia Transmission Corporation will use an up to $325 million investment for several projects, including new transmission lines and upgrades to existing transmission assets in approximately 20 rural communities across Georgia.
- Nebraska Electric G&T will use a $200 million investment to procure 725 MW of wind and solar energy in Butler, Burt and Custer counties. The project will supply enough electricity to power 170,000 homes each year, reduce climate pollution by over 2.2 million tons per year and support as many as 425 jobs.
- Oglethorpe Power Corporation will use a $331.5 million investment to refinance outstanding loans for the retired Hal B. Wansley coal plant. The refinancing will result in average annual savings of $7.7 million in expenses from 2025 to 2044, which will be passed to the 38 member cooperatives it serves.
- San Miguel Electric Cooperative will use a more than $1.4 billion investment to procure 600 MW of clean, renewable energy through solar voltaic panels and a battery energy storage system to power 47 counties across rural South Texas. The project will reduce climate pollution by more than 1.8 million tons each year, equivalent to removing 446,000 cars from the road each year, and support as many as 600 jobs.
- Seminole Electric Cooperative will use a more than $1.3 billion investment to procure 700 MW of energy resources through a combination of utility-scale solar and battery energy storage projects across rural portions of Florida. This project will support roughly 3,400 jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 3.5 million tons annually, which is the equivalent of removing 740,000 cars from the road each year.
- Trico Electric Cooperative will use a more than $43 million investment to procure 80 MW of solar energy and 80 MW of battery energy storage in rural Arizona. The project will supply enough electricity to power nearly 11,000 homes each year, reduce climate pollution by over 132,000 tons each year and support as many as 256 jobs.
- United Power will use a nearly $262 million investment to offset the cost of its transition to a clean energy portfolio that will provide more than 760 MW of renewable energy resources in rural Colorado. United Power’s green portfolio currently represents over 300 MW of solar, hydropower and wind energy, including one project providing tax benefits and workforce opportunities in a disadvantaged county. The New ERA investment will help the cooperative reduce climate pollution by over 2.1 million tons each year.
- Yampa Valley Electric Association will use a nearly $50 million investment to procure up to 150 MW of solar energy and 75 MW of battery energy storage for northwestern Colorado and southwestern Wyoming. The project will support disadvantaged communities, promote jobs skills through an expanded scholarship program and reduce climate pollution by 255,000 tons each year.
USDA has also selected six other cooperatives to move forward in the process to receive New ERA funding. These include:
- Grand Valley Rural Power Lines, Mountain Parks Electric and San Miguel Power Association in Colorado,
- 1803 Electric Cooperative in Louisiana,
- Pacific Northwest Generation Cooperative in Oregon, and
- Inland Power and Light Company in Washington and Idaho.
USDA has awarded funding to 15 cooperatives as part of the New ERA program to benefit rural electric cooperatives and their members. The funding represents almost $9 billion in New ERA-financed grants and loans.
The projects will support good-paying jobs, lower energy costs for rural Americans, reduce pollution and enhance the resiliency of the nation’s electric grid. One in five rural Americans will benefit from the clean energy investments. USDA expects to make additional New ERA award announcements in the future.
