Biden administration massively invests in rural energy projects

The administration of President Joe Biden has announced the allocation of $7.3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 for projects promoting renewable energy, led by rural electric cooperatives. A total of 16 projects are intended to lower energy costs and improve reliability for rural areas that traditionally experience higher energy expenses. The first project involves an allocation of nearly $573 million to the Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse, Wisconsin. These funds will finance four solar plants and four wind plants in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois. "One in five rural Americans will benefit from these investments in renewable energy, thanks to partnerships with rural electric cooperatives like Dairyland. Simply put, this is rural energy for rural America," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement. The projects funded through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program of the Inflation Reduction Act will annually prevent more than 43 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions and create over 4,500 permanent jobs as well as 16,000 construction jobs. According to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, rural electric cooperatives serve 42 million people. In August, the administration had already announced a commitment of $2.2 billion to modernize the nation's power grid, which has been increasingly strained by extreme weather events while data centers simultaneously demand more power. Joe Biden is expected to formally announce the funding on Thursday along with Vilsack in Westby, Wisconsin.