US to allocate $7.3 billion for rural clean energy projects

President Joe Biden the administration announced on Thursday that US I will spend $7.3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to fund clean energy projects carried out by rural electric cooperatives.

16 funded projects will lower energy costs and increase reliability for rural Americans who typically pay more for energy, White House he said.

The first project will allocate almost 573 million dollars Down Dairyland Energy Cooperative IN LaCrosse, Wisconsinfor four solar installations and four wind installations Wisconsin, Iowa, MinnesotaAND Illinois.

“One in five rural Americans will benefit from these investments in clean energy through partnerships with rural electric cooperatives like Dairyland. Simply put, this is rural energy for rural America,” said the agriculture secretary. Tom Vilsack in the statement.

Other first-round projects in the upper Midwest that will receive funding include:

· Basin Electricity Cooperative, Montana, North DakotaAND South DakotaThanks to this funding, Basin Electricity Cooperative will provide additional renewable energy production and enhance existing renewable assets owned by the cooperative, which are expected to have a combined capacity of more than 1,400 megawatts Montana, North DakotaAND South Dakota.

· The Energy of the Great River, Minnesota, North DakotaAND WisconsinThis new ERA investment will be used by The Energy of the Great River and its member-owners to generate 1,275 megawatts of renewable energy in rural areas Minnesota AND North Dakota.

These projects include large-scale wind power projects, distributed renewable energy projects and innovative demand management investments that complement the existing portfolio.

· Minnkota Energy Cooperative, North Dakota AND Minnesota. This new investment by ERA will support Minnkota Energy Cooperative implementation of the carbon capture and storage project (Tundra project) and purchase of 370 megawatts of wind energy North Dakota.

Projects funded by IRA Empowering Rural America The programme (New ERA) will prevent the emission of more than 43 million tonnes of greenhouse gases per year and provide more than 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs, White House he said.

According to data, rural electricity cooperatives serve 42 million people. National Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives.

The administration said in August that it was investing $2.2 billion in modernizing the national power grid, which has been strained by extreme weather events, while data centers require more energy.

Biden was set to announce funding in Westby, Wisconsinon Thursday next to Vilsack.

Reporting by Leah Douglas; Edit by David Gregorio. Agweek staff contributed to this article.