Distributed Energy Resources, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables - June 28, 2024
USDA Provides $375M for Rural Clean Energy Projects
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the agency is providing over $375 million in funding through the Powering Affordable Clean Energy Program (PACE) and the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for hundreds of clean energy projects in rural America to lower energy bills and expand access to clean energy.
Many of the projects are funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The PACE and REAP programs are part of the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy and other investment areas flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Vilsack announced more than $275 million to rural electric cooperative projects moving forward in the awards process through the PACE program to expand access to clean energy for communities in Alaska, Arizona, Kentucky and Nebraska.
The projects include the following:
- In Fairbanks, Alaska, Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. has been selected to receive $100 million to build a 46-megawatt battery energy storage system.
- The Alaska Electric and Energy Cooperative Inc. has also been selected to receive $100 million to install a 45-megawatt four-hour battery energy storage system adjacent to its Soldotna Substation. The cooperative is a wholly owned subsidiary of Homer Electric Association Inc., a distribution electric utility serving over 24,330 members across more than 3,000 square miles in Alaska’s western and southern Kenai Peninsula.
- In Benson, Arizona, Sierra Southwest Cooperative Services Inc. has been selected to receive approximately $55.2 million to finance three battery energy storage system projects totaling 35 megawatts and lasting for four hours in duration.
- In Estill County, Kentucky, Lock 11 Hydro Partners LLC has been selected to receive approximately $16.6 million to build a new 3-megawatt run-of-river hydroelectric plant at Lock and Dam 11 on the Kentucky River. This project will use modern run-of-river energy practices that limit the environmental impact of hydropower and ensure affordable, clean energy for rural Kentuckians.
- In Nebraska, Bluestem Energy Solutions LLC has been selected to receive approximately $3.6 million to build a 2-megawatt community solar facility with the City of Madison electric utility.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are committed to expanding access to modern clean energy systems and fueling options that strengthen the nation’s energy independence while creating good-paying jobs and saving rural Americans money,” Secretary Vilsack said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with hundreds more family farms and small businesses as well as rural electric cooperatives and local clean energy developers to address the impacts of climate change, grow the economy and keep rural communities throughout the country strong and resilient.”
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