Press Releases

PLASKETT ANNOUNCES HISTORIC $11 BILLION INVESTMENT TO ADVANCE CLEAN ENERGY ACROSS RURAL AMERICA 

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Stacey E. Plaskett shared the following statement on the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic $11 billion investment to advance clean energy across rural America: 

“The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to the Investing in America Agenda to help rural energy and utility providers bring affordable, reliable clean energy to their communities across the country. This represents the single largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.

“Funding is available through two programs under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which makes the nation’s largest-ever investment in combatting the climate crisis. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be opening a Letter of Interest process for the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program, which makes $1 billion available in partially forgivable loans to renewable-energy developers and electric service providers, including municipals, cooperatives, and investor-owned and Tribal utilities to help finance large-scale solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydropower projects and energy storage in support of renewable energy systems. In addition to the PACE program, USDA will be opening a Letter of Interest process for the Empowering Rural America (“New ERA”) program, which makes $9.7 billion available to eligible rural electric cooperatives to deploy renewable energy systems, zero-emission, and carbon capture systems.

“I am pleased that the Biden-Harris Administration Investing in America agenda is investing in rural electrification to transform systems in a way that promotes resilient, reliable, and affordable energy to rural America. I look forward to our territory taking advantage of this funding to uplift our community and create cross-sector economic opportunities.”

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