Biden Administration Invests in Clean Energy Projects

By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) – President Joe Biden’s administration announced on Thursday that the U.S. will invest $7.3 billion from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to support clean energy projects led by rural electric cooperatives.

The 16 projects funded by this initiative aim to reduce energy costs and enhance reliability for rural Americans, who traditionally face higher energy bills, according to the White House.

The first major project will allocate nearly $573 million to Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This funding will facilitate the installation of four solar and four wind power projects in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois.

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

These projects, financed by the IRA’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, are expected to prevent over 43 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and create more than 4,500 permanent jobs along with 16,000 construction jobs, according to the White House.

Rural electric cooperatives provide service to 42 million people, as reported by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

In August, the administration announced a $2.2 billion investment aimed at upgrading the nation’s power grid, which has been strained by extreme weather events and increasing power demands from data centers.

Biden was scheduled to unveil the funding in Westby, Wisconsin, on Thursday alongside Vilsack.