Biden Administration Announces $3 Billion to Fund Renewable Energy in Rural America

The US Department of Agriculture announced Friday it will grant more than $3 billion to seven rural electric cooperatives as part of the Empowering Rural America program. Nearly $2.5 billion is headed to the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, a not-for-profit clean energy supplier that generates power for 41 rural electric companies across the American West and Midwest. More than $1 billion is headed to the other six cooperatives, which include suppliers that service Minnesota, South Dakota, South Carolina, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas. 

The investment is part of $6.4 billion in total funding that aims to generate 1.75 gigawatts of clean energy for rural communities while also reducing greenhouse gas production by 6.4 million tons. 

As part of the funding, Tri-State Generation agreed to cut electricity rates for rural Americans that it services by an estimated 10% over the next 10 years, which saves an estimated $430 million in electricity bills. It'll also serve to offset 1,100 megawatts of previously announced coal-fired energy generation from Tri-State Generation, resulting in a pollution reduction of 5.8 million tons annually. 

"All across America, rural electric cooperatives play an important role in delivering reliable sources of energy to rural communities," Ali Zaidi, the White House's national climate advisor, said in a statement. "By helping rural cooperatives upgrade infrastructure and invest in newer, lower cost clean electricity projects, these investments will benefit rural families and businesses who for too long have faced disproportionately high energy costs due to the challenges of providing electricity in remote communities."

The announcement comes less than a week after the Biden administration announced $428 million in funding to help accelerate clean energy manufacturing across 15 rural communities with the goal of beginning clean energy production in communities that previously relied on coal mines to drive the economy. The initiative is expected to generate 1,900 jobs in the energy segment to help offset the losses from mining coal. 

Over $10 billion in 2 months for rural America

The $3 billion in funding is the second such initiative to pass in the last two months. 

In September 2024, the Biden administration added $7.3 billion in funding through the New ERA program for 16 electric cooperatives from the West Coast to the East Coast that service 23 US states. That funding is going toward support for more than 4,500 permanent jobs, 16,000 construction jobs and over 10 gigawatts of clean energy to help reduce pollution. 

The US government has dedicated $90 billion in funding to help close the broadband divide that exists in rural America, where millions of Americans still don't have access to fast, reliable Internet.