Funding will come from the $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act that Joe Biden signed into law in August.
TGP reports: Nearly $11 billion in grants and loan opportunities were announced by the Biden regime to assist rural energy and utility providers in bringing affordable, reliable clean energy to communities around the country, according to the new release.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to cleaner energy provides rural communities with an affordable and reliable power grid, while supporting thousands of new jobs and helping lower energy costs in the future,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said.
Adding, “These investments will also combat climate change and significantly reduce air and water pollution that put children’s health at risk. The U.S. Department of Agriculture stands ready to partner with municipalities, tribal entities, entrepreneurs, rural electric cooperatives and other utilities to see this transformative investment come to life and create new economic growth and healthier communities.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that beginning on June 30th, renewable energy developers and electric service providers including municipal and Tribal utilities will be able to apply for $1 billion in partially forgivable loans to finance wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and other renewable energy projects.
The USDA also announced that from July 31st, rural electric cooperatives will be able to apply for $9.7 billion in grants to fund the deployment of renewable energy, zero-emission, and carbon capture systems.
“This new funding from the Inflation Reduction Act shows that President Biden, and our entire administration, is serious about investing in rural America,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. “This announcement embodies what the Investing in America Agenda is all about—building a clean energy economy that works for everyone.”
These two programs represent the single largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936, according to the release.
FOX News reported:
The Department of Agriculture said in a press release that the goal of this program is provide affordable clean energy to vulnerable, disadvantaged and Indigenous communities. But there is tension between building a clean energy infrastructure for all and mining the materials needed for that infrastructure.
For example, conservationists and Indigenous communities in Nevada have sued to block the opening of the largest mine planned in the U.S. for extraction of lithium used in electric vehicle batteries.
When asked about tribal concerns about mineral extraction at Monday’s briefing, Vilsack said there would be a “significant tribal consultation” for mining projects on land his agency controls. But when pressed about what would happen if an Indigenous community said no to a mining project, he declined to answer the question, calling it hypothetical.
