Vilsack Announces Rural Energy Investment

“The biggest investment in rural electrification since the mid 1930s.”  That's how President Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are describing a newly announced $7 billion investment in rural clean energy projects in nearly two dozen states.

“To bring the promise of clean energy and lower costs to approximately five million rural households, as well as farms and businesses that are located in those 23 states,” Secretary Vilsack noted Thursday.  He said designated rural electric coops will use the USDA loans and grants to build new, more resilient power generating systems.

“All of this is designed not only to provide more reliant electricity for those rural communities, but will also result in a 43.7-million-ton annual reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”

That, he noted, is the equivalent of taking ten million gas powered cars off the road.  Vilsack added these energy projects will also generate about 20,000 jobs.

None of the Northwest states were awarded funding.

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