Biofuel and clean energy projects and rural electric co-op partnerships will help lower costs and bolster U.S. energy security.
January 11, 2025
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA is funding 586 projects to expand access to clean energy systems and increase the availability of domestic biofuels. USDA is providing nearly $180 million through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP) using funds from President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The projects will create new market opportunities and jobs for American small businesses, farmers, ranchers, forest landowners and agricultural producers in 42 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“The Biden-Harris Administration is lowering costs and giving rural Americans the historic opportunity to expand clean energy and build an economy that benefits working families and small businesses,” Vilsack said. “By expanding access to homegrown biofuels and clean energy systems, we are making long-lasting investments that will strengthen our energy independence, address the impacts of climate change and create new market opportunities and revenue streams for American producers while bringing good-paying jobs to rural communities.”
To date, USDA has invested more than $1.3 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act for 8,012 clean energy projects through REAP and more than $287 million in 345 projects through HBIIP that increase the availability of domestic biofuels across the country.
As part of the announcement, USDA is awarding $120 million in REAP grants for 516 projects in 39 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This program helps farmers and small business owners make energy efficiency improvements and expand their use of wind, solar and other forms of clean energy. For example:
Wolfe Brothers Farms, a family-owned grain-finished cattle farming operation in Tioga County, Pa., will use a $500,000 grant to purchase and install a more energy-efficient grain dryer that is expected to save the farm approximately $103,000 per year and decrease its energy consumption by 60%.
Rosewood Dairy Inc. in Algoma, Wis., will use a $500,000 grant to install more energy-efficient lighting that is expected to save more than $18,000 and nearly 238,000 kilowatt hours per year, which represents 60% of Rosewood Dairy’s energy use.
Dakota Prairie Pork LLC will use a $50,000 grant to install a 49.1 kilowatt solar array at a hog farm near Canton, S.D., that is expected to save nearly $6,800 per year in energy costs and more than 72,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year.
The investments through REAP will benefit farmers, small business owners, entrepreneurs and community organizations in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
REAP is a part of the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the overall benefits from certain federal climate, clean energy and other investment areas flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Business owners are also receiving nearly $60 million through HBIIP to expand access to domestic biofuels in 24 states and strengthen America’s energy independence. This program provides grants to fueling station and distribution facility owners to expand access to domestic biofuels as a clean and affordable source of energy. These investments help business owners install and upgrade infrastructure such as fuel pumps, dispensers and storage tanks. For example:
In California, EZ Petroleum will use a $1.3 million grant to install 30 E85 dispensers and seven ethanol storage tanks at seven fueling stations in Winton, Fremont, South San Francisco, Salinas, Richmond and Fresno. This project is expected to increase the amount of ethanol sold by more than 391,000 gal. per year.
In Florida, Mas Fuel Distributors will use a nearly $2 million grant to install 14 E15 dispensers, 24 E85 dispensers and eight ethanol storage tanks at three fueling stations in Hollywood, Miami and Homestead, increasing the estimated amount of ethanol sold by an nearly 2 million gal. per year.
In Iowa, Morning Star Station LLC will use a $398,000 grant to install two E15 dispensers, one B20 dispenser, one ethanol storage tank and one biodiesel storage tank at a fueling station in Worthington, increasing the projected amount of biofuel sold by more than 116,000 gal. per year.
The investments announced through HBIIP today will benefit people living in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
Vilsack separately announced more than $6 billion in clean energy investments through USDA’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) programs. Rural electric cooperatives and communities 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 and PACE were made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, and both are also covered programs in the President’s Justice40 Initiative.
“In just two years, the New ERA and PACE programs have created dozens of new partnerships with rural electric cooperatives and communities that will reduce pollution, create jobs and make clean energy more affordable for millions of rural Americans,” Vilsack said. “These investments we’re making today will continue to support the health, prosperity and well-being of rural Americans for generations to come.”
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. Some examples include:
Inside Passage Electric Cooperative will use a $7.4 million investment to build 0.35 megawatts of clean energy from a run-of-river hydropower facility near the remote community of Hoonah in southeast Alaska to power nearly 543 homes each year, create approximately 25 jobs and reduce climate pollution by nearly 1,548 tons each year.
Great River Energy will use a $794 million investment to procure 1,275 megawatts of renewable energy in rural areas across Minnesota and North Dakota. Projects will include large-scale wind energy, distributed renewable energy and other innovative investments. The investment is expected to create over 1,600 jobs, reduce member costs by approximately $40 million annually and reduce climate pollution by over 5.49 million tons each year.
Seven States Power Corp. will use a $439 million investment to build 250 megawatts of clean, renewable energy from a solar facility that will serve parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The project will power nearly 113,000 homes each year, create over 100 jobs, reduce climate pollution by nearly 291,000 tons each year and reduce the project’s costs by more than $340 million.
In addition to the organizations receiving funding, USDA has selected Blue Ridge Power Agency and San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative to move forward in the process to receive funding for proposed projects.
USDA has now awarded roughly 90% of total available New ERA funding to benefit rural electric cooperatives and their members, obligating approximately $9 billion of the program’s $9.7 billion budget authority. This represents more than $14.5 billion in grants and loans benefiting 35 states, with rural electric cooperatives committing to build or purchase more than 13 gigawatts of clean energy.
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. For example:
The Navajo Tribal Utility Authority will use a more than $110 million investment to develop solar-power facilities and a battery energy storage system totaling 30.75 megawatts of renewable energy in rural parts of Arizona and New Mexico that are expected to provide enough locally generated electricity to power nearly 13,000 homes each year.
Tri-County KY Affordable Solar LLC will use an approximately $8.2 million investment to develop a solar-power system totaling nearly 4.5 megawatts of renewable energy in Scottsville, Ky., that will provide a portion of the electricity needed to power around 20,000 rural households.
Electric City ESS LLC will use a more than $16 million investment to build a 10-megawatt battery energy storage system for renewable energy in rural Michigan to supplement the municipal electric utility’s existing solar and hydropower sources and provide power to 7,200 people each year.
Additional details on all funding recipients and finalists are available on the PACE website. USDA has now obligated more than $1.6 billion in partially forgivable loans of PACE program funds for clean energy projects serving rural Americans.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, support 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 healthcare; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal and high-poverty areas.
You May Also Like
Enter a zip code to see the weather conditions for a different location.
