U.S. Agriculture Department Announces Funding to Expand Access to Clean Energy

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Oct. 18 announced that it is partnering with small businesses and farmers to enhance accessibility to clean energy, create employment opportunities and assist in lowering their energy bills via the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, and the Empowering Rural America, or New ERA, program. The initiatives provide a combined 654 grants that will aid farmers and small businesses across the U.S. to benefit from cost savings, as well as the utilization of clean energy and efficient energy systems.

Over 600 of the funded projects, made possible by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, further enhance the administration’s Investing in America agenda. Through the REAP program, the department partners with small businesses and agricultural producers to reduce business expenditures through clean energy and energy efficient systems. The New ERA program makes available financing to member owned rural electric cooperatives to shift towards clean, low-cost electricity for households, small business holders and farmers.

As part of the New ERA initiative, the department is making $20.5 million accessible for Allegheny Electric Cooperative. This funding will assist in lowering energy expenditures and make accessible clean energy for rural households in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The New ERA grant will also permit Allegheny to fulfil over 80 percent of its electricity needs from carbon neutral energy sources by 2026.

In addition, the department is investing $126 million in REAP grants that will finance 654 clean energy projects across 39 states, Puerto Rico and Guam. This incorporates $24 million in subsidies that will fund 112 clean energy projects in the state of Pennsylvania. The department will also make available a further $600 million across three funding rounds from now until 2027. During each funding round, the department expects to make accessible $180 million in general REAP financing and $20 million in set-aside financing for underutilised renewable energy technology.

The department is accepting applications in this first round through two windows. The deadlines to apply are Dec. 31, 2024, and March 31, 2025.