Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) is selected to receive $485 million in funding through the US Departments of Agriculture’s (USDA) New Empowering Rural America (ERA) Program.
“We are investing historic resources in innovative solutions to help Arizona communities reduce wildfire risk and adapt in the face of drought,” said Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack. “At the same time, we are looking to the future by investing in clean energy infrastructure, creating new jobs, and building prosperity in rural communities.”
The new ERA grant opportunity will help AEPCO to retire its last remaining coal assets by the end of 2027 and make major investments in new utility scale renewable energy projects, including 730 MW of solar and 2,910 MW hours of battery energy storage to serve 40 member cooperatives and public power utilities across the rural Southwest.
The ERA program is also expected to diversify AEPCO’s power resources and decrease its reliance on older fossil fuel resources, reducing CO2 emissions by more than 1 million tons annually, or more than 70% by 2031.
AEPCO has developed an accompanying Community Benefits Plan (CBP) to engage with its union partners, local community colleges, and other stakeholders and develop new renewable energy apprenticeship programs.
Jordy Fuentes, executive director of the Arizona Power Authority, noted that the benefits of AEPCO’s new ERA projects will not only benefit Arizona’s electric cooperative communities, but will also be distributed throughout the rural southwest.
