Biden-Harris administration announces multi-billion dollar investment in clean energy for rural communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 5, 2024

CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (540) 798-6683, dan@appvoices.org 

Rural electric cooperatives in Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania are among the first round of 16 recipients of $7.3 billion in financing for clean energy initiatives through the Empowering Rural America, or New ERA, program. The money is part of the funding made available with passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

The funding will be used to build or purchase more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy for customers of rural electric cooperatives, including in Appalachian and coal-impacted areas. These projects will support more than 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs while enhancing grid reliability and reducing power outages. The projects funded will reduce pollution by 2.9 billion tons, including 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gasses annually.

Statement by Bri Knisley, Director of Public Power Campaigns:
“We are excited to see this funding getting out the door to help rural communities gain access to reliable, affordable and efficient energy infrastructure. Rural electric cooperatives still rely heavily on inefficient, expensive fossil fuels that create pollution and harmful waste. The New ERA program is helping to change that pattern and prioritize the most disadvantaged communities in rural America to reduce coal pollution. Even with this enormous investment, rural electric cooperatives still have tens of billions of dollars in need to help retire fossil fuel-based facilities and replace them with clean, sustainable energy.”