The Biden administration announced a $375 million allocation of funds to renewable energy initiatives on June 26.
The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program, which is dedicated to renewable electrification in rural regions, will receive $275 million of the cash.
The funds will go to projects in Nebraska, Alaska, Arizona, and Kentucky to be used for battery energy storage systems in Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Soldotna Substation in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, both of which will receive $100 million each.
Three battery storage projects in Benson, Ariz., will receive $55.2 million from PACE. A hydroelectric plant on the Kentucky River will receive $16.6 million, while a community solar facility in Madison, Neb., will receive $3.6 million.
Almost $100 million in loans and grants will be allocated to the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) spread across 473 projects in 39 states and Puerto Rico.
The REAP program is intended to assist agricultural producers and rural small businesses adopt renewable energy and improve energy efficiency.
The Agriculture Department offered an example of how the REAP program funding will be used. Wilson Dairy LLC in St. Lawrence County, New York, will receive an $82,939 grant to purchase an energy-efficient grain dryer, saving about $23,000 per year and cutting energy use by almost 70 percent.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the collaboration with rural Americans to implement hundreds of clean energy projects aimed at reducing energy costs, expanding access to clean energy, and creating jobs for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers.
The initiative, backed by the Inflation Reduction Act, marks the nation’s largest-ever investment in combating the climate crisis, according to the Department of Agriculture website.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack emphasized the significance of these projects in advancing President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which aims to stimulate economic growth and job creation.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and [Department of Agriculture] 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,” Mr. Vilsack said.
“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.”
These programs are part of the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of federal climate and clean energy investments reach disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened by pollution.
In May 2023, Congress allocated $1 billion through PACE to fund new clean energy projects and energy storage in rural areas. The program offers low-interest loans with up to 60 percent loan forgiveness for renewable energy developers, rural electric cooperatives, and other rural energy providers.
The majority of these funds will be allocated to rural electric cooperatives, which the administration stated would be the largest cash injection into rural electrification since the New Deal of the 1930s.
