Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, urged United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack and USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Administrator Andrew Berke to maximize the benefit of USDA’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program by giving full and fair consideration to the projects proposed in the letters of intent submitted by Colorado rural electric cooperatives. Last year, Bennet helped secure nearly $14 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to support rural clean energy initiatives through USDA including the New ERA program.
“With the IRA, we made the single largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal. A critical part of that is the New ERA program, which invests $9.7 billion to help rural electric coops transition to clean energy,” wrote Bennet. “New ERA and other USDA clean energy programs play a critical role in accelerating deployment of clean energy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, creating new local economic opportunities, and lowering energy costs for rural families.”
In the letter, Bennet highlights how the New ERA program can support the clean energy transition by funding larger renewable projects and helping rural electric cooperatives own projects for the first time – which can reduce energy costs for their consumers. Given the overwhelming interest in the program, Bennet urges USDA to focus its awards on projects that maximize greenhouse gas emission reductions and to follow the IRA’s intent to make clean energy more reliable and affordable for Americans living in rural communities.
“As it makes decisions, I hope the agency will fully recognize the value Colorado electric coops bring to the national clean energy transition as leaders on innovation and decarbonization, while maintaining affordability and reliability for rural families,” concluded Bennet.
Last year, Bennet joined Vilsack and Biden administration leaders at the White House to announce nearly $11 billion in grants and loan opportunities – including $9.7 billion through the New ERA program – to help rural energy and utility providers bring affordable, reliable clean energy to their communities across the country. This funding was part of the nearly $14 billion Bennet championed in the IRA to accelerate clean energy deployment, create local economic opportunities, and lower costs for families in rural communities. Bennet helped secure these investments alongside direct pay provisions in the IRA that allow rural electric cooperatives, public power companies, Tribes, and other entities without tax liability to access clean energy tax credits for the first time.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Vilsack and Administrator Berke:
I write to express my strong support for the letters of intent (LOI) submitted by Colorado rural electric cooperatives to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program. I deeply appreciate all the work the USDA Rural Development team is doing to roll-out the new Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) clean energy programs like New ERA. Colorado cooperatives (coops) are poised to lead the clean energy transition in rural America, and I urge USDA to give their New ERA LOIs full and fair consideration.
With the IRA, we made the single largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal. A critical part of that is the New ERA program, which invests $9.7 billion to help rural electric coops transition to clean energy. New ERA has the potential to fund larger renewable projects, and even position coops to own projects for the first time, which provides incredible value to the rural communities they serve. New ERA and other USDA clean energy programs play a critical role in accelerating deployment of clean energy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions, creating new local economic opportunities, and lowering energy costs for rural families.
There is enormous interest in USDA’s IRA clean energy programs like New ERA, where requests for funding total nearly five times the amounts available. In Colorado, rural coops have requested more than $2.26 billion for 62 projects across the state.
The USDA faces a difficult task choosing projects to move forward given the high number of project applications. I urge the agency to maintain its focus on maximizing greenhouse gas emission reductions, while supporting long-term resiliency, reliability, and affordability as outlined in statute.
I applaud USDA’s efforts to encourage and support rural coops to submit LOI’s, and urge the agency to move swiftly to review proposals and invite applications. I also encourage the agency to explore all options for providing flexibility within Rural Development’s regulations to ensure funding can expeditiously be directed to projects and that we maximize the benefits of the New ERA program. As it makes decisions, I hope the agency will fully recognize the value Colorado electric coops bring to the national clean energy transition as leaders on innovation and decarbonization, while maintaining affordability and reliability for rural families.
I look forward to hearing from you on this important matter.