US to spend $7.3 billion on rural clean energy projects By Reuters

By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s administration said on Thursday the U.S. will spend $7.3 billion from the 2022 Inflation Relief Act to fund clean energy projects led by rural electric cooperatives.

The 16 funded projects will lower energy costs and increase reliability for rural Americans, who tend to pay more for energy, the White House said.

The first project will allocate nearly $573 million to Dairyland Power Cooperative of La Crosse, Wis., for four solar facilities and four wind energy facilities in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

“One in five rural Americans will benefit from these clean energy investments, thanks to partnerships with rural electric cooperatives like Dairyland. Simply put, this is rural power, for rural America,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

The projects, funded by the IRA Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, will prevent more than 43 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution annually and support more than 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs, the White House said.

Rural electric cooperatives serve 42 million people, according to the National Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives.

The administration said in August it was investing $2.2 billion in overhauling the nation’s power grid, which has been strained by extreme weather, even as data centers demand more power.

Biden was scheduled to announce the funding in Westby, Wis., on Thursday with Vilsack.