USDA: Largest Investment in Rural Electrification Since the New Deal - Morning AgClips
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, we are supporting a more prosperous future for rural communities by speeding up the transition to clean energy while at the same time keeping monthly bills low and investing in the American workforce with new jobs and apprenticeships,” said Secretary Vilsack. “One in five rural Americans will benefit from these clean energy investments, thanks to partnerships with rural electric cooperatives like Dairyland. Put simply, this is rural power, for rural America.” (Photo: USDA, Public domain)
WESTBY, Wis. — During a visit to Wisconsin today [Sept. 5, 2024], President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce more than $7.3 billion in financing for rural electric cooperatives to build clean energy for rural communities across the country through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program. Together, New ERA and other investments in rural clean energy in the President’s Inflation Reduction Act make up the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936 as part of the New Deal.
Collectively, the 16 selections announced today – funded by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda – will leverage private investments of more than $29 billion to build more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy for rural communities across the country. The selectees announced today will reduce and avoid at least 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, equivalent to removing more than 10 million cars off the road every year.