Jessica King, jessica.king@sierraclub.org
Washington, D.C. -- A novel Inflation Reduction Act program to bring economic development and lower cost energy to rural communities received applications from 157 electric cooperatives, according to an announcement from the US Department of Agriculture today.
The partnership between Sierra Club and Bloomberg Philanthropies has been instrumental in the creation and implementation of this initiative, supporting USDA, rural electric cooperatives, and rural communities to ensure the equitable advancement of clean energy across the country.
The application requests represent more than twice the available funds in the $9.7 billion New ERA program, and came from rural cooperatives in 40 states and Puerto Rico. Together, the rural cooperatives’ clean energy plans represent an investment of over $93 billion in more than 750 clean energy projects.
The submitted proposals would reduce or avoid 127 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of taking 24 million cars off the road for a year, and more than 50% of the letters of interest indicated an intention to serve distressed, disadvantaged, energy, or Tribal communities, according to USDA.
USDA announced the first phase of applications for the New ERA program in July 2023, asking rural electric cooperatives to submit pre-applications, or letters of intent. The window to submit letters closed on September 15. USDA will evaluate and score pre-applications, and will release more information as it processes letters of interest and applications.
In response, Sierra Club Senior Advisor Jeremy Fisher released the following statement:
"This is an extraordinary moment for rural electric cooperatives. USDA set an extremely ambitious timeline for cooperatives to assess the highest value of these clean energy funds, and the cooperative community stepped up to deliver $93 billion in proposed investments. For years, cooperatives have lagged the transition, but today’s announcement shows us that there are leaders ready to drive benefits to their customers and communities.
“This is an unequivocal sign rural America is rolling up its sleeves to take advantage of the jobs and economic opportunities of clean energy. New ERA enables rural communities to not only host the transition, but own it and benefit from it. This overwhelming interest in clean energy from rural cooperatives makes it abundantly clear that rural America is ready to sit in the driver’s seat.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.