U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Acting State Director Joan Scheel today announced more than $250 million in clean energy investments through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) programs in Nebraska.
New ERA and PACE were made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.
“We are committed to promoting the health, prosperity, and well-being of all Nebraskans,” Scheel said. “Through these programs, we have forged partnerships across Nebraska that reduce pollution, create jobs, and make clean energy more accessible and affordable for rural Nebraskans.”
Rural electric cooperatives and communities across the nation will use the funding to support thousands of jobs, lower electricity costs for businesses and families, and reduce climate pollution by millions of tons each year. More than one in five rural Americans will benefit from clean energy investments supported through the New ERA and PACE programs.
New ERA Investments
USDA is providing more than $5.49 billion in grants and loans to finance 28 clean energy projects in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. Details on all of these awards are available on the New ERA website.
In Nebraska:
Nebraska Electric G&T (NEGT) will receive a $200 million New ERA grant to procure 725 megawatts of wind and solar energy in Butler, Burt, and Custer Counties, which can supply electricity to nearly 170,000 homes per year. This investment will create up to 425 short- and long-term jobs, stabilize costs for rural cooperative members, and reduce climate pollution by over 2.2 million tons per year. This proposal will reduce greenhouse gas pollution by the equivalent of 482,000 gasoline-powered cars each year.?
The New ERA program will provide an opportunity for NEGT to provide its members with special patronage retirements. It is also projected to reduce wholesale power rates by 1.5% per year over the project's life.
PACE Investments
USDA is providing approximately $565 million in partially forgivable loans to finance 26 clean energy projects in Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
In Nebraska:
Bluestem Energy Solutions, LLC is expected to receive a ~$3.6 million partially forgivable loan to build a 2-megawatt community solar facility with the City of Madison electric utility.
Loup Valley’s Rural Public Power District is expected to receive nearly $7 million in financing to build solar facilities capable of producing 2.8 megawatts of renewable energy in rural Nebraska. This project will provide enough electricity to power 350 homes, the equivalent of 16% of homes in their service area.
Midwest Electric Cooperative Corp. received a $17 million partially forgivable loan to finance solar renewable energy resource facilities and energy storage systems for communities in Wallace, Grant, Paxton, and Lakeview.
SE Municipal Solar is expected to receive a $30 million partially forgivable loan to construct eight solar photovoltaic generation facilities totaling 18.72 megawatts to serve multiple areas in Nebraska. It will produce enough electricity to power 1,746 residential homes.
The Village of Emerson is expected to receive a $1 million partially forgivable loan to build a solar facility to make efficiency improvements to its energy distribution system.
Both New ERA and PACE are also covered programs in the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy and other investment areas flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America.
