RAMSEY, Minn.(USDA Press Release) – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today 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. Rural electric cooperatives will use the funding to support thousands of jobs, lower electricity costs for businesses and families and reduce climate pollution by millions of tons each year.
New ERA was made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936. New ERA program funding is available to member-owned rural electric cooperatives, which have been the backbone of America’s rural power delivery for nearly a century.
“USDA is committed to enhancing the quality of life and improving air and water in our rural communities,” Secretary Vilsack said. “The Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investments enable USDA to partner with rural electric cooperatives to strengthen America’s energy security and lower electricity bills for hardworking families, farmers and small business owners.”
Rural Utilities Service Administrator Andy Berke highlighted the new investments at the Ramsey, Minnesota, headquarters of Connexus Energy, the state’s largest electric cooperative. Connexus will use nearly $170 million in New ERA grant funding to procure over 282 megawatts of renewable hydro, solar and wind energy. The cooperative also will purchase 20 megawatts of battery energy storage. These projects will lower costs for its members in rural Minnesota, support nearly 400 jobs and reduce climate pollution by more than 1.1 million tons each year.
Connexus is one of 10 rural electric cooperatives receiving funding in today’s announcement. 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 at least 5,000 jobs and reduce climate pollution by over 11 million tons each year.