The U.S. government has announced a $7.3 billion investment from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to fund 16 clean energy projects led by rural electric cooperatives. These initiatives aim to lower energy costs and enhance reliability for rural Americans, who typically face higher energy bills, according to a White House statement.
The first project will direct nearly $573 million to the Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse, Wisconsin, for the development of four solar and four wind power installations across Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said: “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.”
The projects are part of the IRA’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program and are expected to prevent over 43 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Additionally, they will create more than 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs, the White House said.
Rural electric cooperatives serve 42 million people, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. The Biden administration has also allocated $2.2 billion in August for upgrading the U.S. power grid, which has been strained by extreme weather and growing demand from data centers.
Dairyland Power Cooperative is investing $2.1 billion. It aims to procure 1,080 megawatts of renewable energy through eight wind and solar power purchase agreements. Dairyland estimates that electric rates for their members will be 42 percent lower over 10 years than they would have been without New ERA funding.