Biden’s ‘New ERA’ for rural America: Clean electricity

WASHINGTON (CN) — During a trip to Wisconsin Thursday, President Joe Biden will push rural America into its clean electricity era, announcing $7.3 billion in awards to finance affordable and resilient electricity for 5 million households.

The investment will be the first of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Empowering Rural America program. Funded through the Inflation Reduction Act, the New ERA program, as it’s coined, aims to help rural electric cooperatives transition to clean energy for rural communities.

“It's the largest investment in rural electrification since FDR’s administration and will spur economic development and lower costs for millions of Americans, and it will create 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs,” White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian said in a call with reporters on the investments.

The award will be split between 16 cooperatives to benefit rural residents in 23 states, which the White House says represents 20% of rural households, farms, businesses and schools. In addition to the $7.3 billion investment from the USDA, the cooperatives chosen will leverage an additional $29 billion in private investment.

“All of this is designed not only to provide more reliant electricity for those rural communities but will also result in a 43.7-million-ton annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as a result of the clean energy future the president envisioned,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack told reporters. “In addition to all of the clean energy, there will also be nearly 1,900 megawatts of battery storage, which means greater resiliency within the system.”

Biden’s remarks will detail Wisconsin’s own Dairyland Power Cooperative, which received nearly $573 million for 1,080 megawatts of renewable energy aimed at lowering electric rates by 42% over 10 years. With a total investment of $2.1 billion, the project plans to purchase solar and wind power installations for rural portions of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois.

“These benefit plans are designed to provide direct assistance and help to farmers who will benefit from this clean energy as well as connecting to employment opportunities,” Vilsack said. “You'll see the opportunity for apprenticeships and training programs in order to build the workforce of the future.”

The Allegheny Electric Cooperative plans to use the funds for carbon-free resources for energy needs in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. With the New ERA funding, over 80% of Allegheny’s power requirements will come from carbon-free resources by 2026, reducing greenhouse gas emissions to a level equivalent to removing 22,000 cars from the road each year.

Arizona Electric Cooperative CEO Patrick Ledger said the investment marks a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The cooperative’s share of the award will go toward large-scale investments in renewable power like solar, battery energy and wind, aiming to reduce pollution by 70%.

“This funding will enhance the not-for-profit democratic community-based cooperative model and will provide stable and long-term benefits for our rural communities for years to come," Ledger said in a statement.

The award will also fund the Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s project creating jobs, reducing emissions and providing cost benefits for residents across Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. Buckeye Power intends to use its share for renewable energy creation and storage across rural Ohio, where coal-fired power plants are expected to close.

In total, the administration expects the recipients to create over 10 gigawatts of clean energy for rural communities, cutting 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gases annually.

While grant recipients embraced Biden’s investments in clean energy, the administration’s regulatory push toward climate solutions remains on shaky ground. Republican-led states and industry groups filed dozens of emergency applications at the Supreme Court this summer to thwart new emissions standards for power plants.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association said complying with new rules to reduce carbon pollution at coal-fired power plants would cost $10 billion or more for each of its members. The electric group said plants would have to shut down without more time to meet the compliance standards, slashing electric reliability across the country.

The Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether the administration can enforce the regulations while they’re challenged in court.

Follow @KelseyReichmann

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