Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack speaks during the daily press briefing at the White House on July 31. He talked about President Joe Biden’s support for rural power co-op in an upcoming speech on Thursday. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo
Sept. 5 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will travel to Wisconsin Thursday to announce $7.3 billion in spending for clean energy in rural areas throughout the United States.
In the Westby, Wisc., remarks, Biden will announce the first 16 rural electric cooperatives with about 5 million members that will receive funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help transition to clean energy and distribute powers to farms, families and businesses.
The co-ops cover 23 states — Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
“The investment announced today is the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal and is part of the President’s Investing in America’s agenda, which is lowering costs, creating jobs and bringing new opportunity to communities and families across the country,” the White House said in a statement.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a separate comment that the money will help small electric companies like the Dairyland Power Cooperative in Wisconsin upgrade to clean energy alternatives.
“This is a $573 million commitment that the USDA is making with the Inflation Reduction Act resources in the form of a grant of nearly $471 million and a loan of nearly $102 million,” Vilsack said.
Vilsack said Dairyland Power will have the opportunity to purchase and finance four solar installations and four wind power installations across its service area over the next 10 years, reducing the electricity cost for its customers by 42%.
“I think it’s an opportunity to talk about the extraordinary investment that’s been made in rural America by the Biden-Harris administration as part of the president’s Investing in America initiative,” Vilsack said.
Source link : https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2024/09/05/Biden-USDA-rural-power-co-op-clean-energy/2621725533453/
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Publish date : 2024-09-05 00:26:00
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