President Joe Biden announced $7.3 billion in funding for clean, reliable and affordable energy during his visit to the small agricultural town of Westby, Wis., on Thursday.

“It’s the most significant, transformative investment in electrification and clean energy for rural America since FDR’s New Deal nearly 90 years ago,” Biden declared on Thursday. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden announced $7.3 billion in funding for clean, reliable and affordable energy during his visit to the small agricultural town of Westby, Wis., Thursday

  • The Empowering Rural America, or New ERA, program will be the nation’s largest investment in electrifying rural parts of the country since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacted the Rural Electrification Act in 1936

  • “It’s an exciting announcement with a massive impact across 23 states to bring the promise of clean energy and lower costs to approximately 5 million rural households representing 20% of the nation’s entire rural households,” U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said 

  • Provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, the USDA will divvy up the funds to 16 rural electric cooperatives that are owned by their members to transition to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar

The Empowering Rural America, or New ERA, program, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters on a call will have a “massive impact,” reaching about five million rural households across 23 states, accounting for 20% of the nation’s entire rural households. 

“It means 20,000 jobs – good paying, high-quality jobs, including union jobs so rural America is empowered to lead our clean energy future,” Biden said of the investment on Thursday. “It means covering the upfront cost of clean energy so rural families can save on their energy bills and get just a little more breathing room at the end of the month.” 

Provided through the Inflation Reduction Act, the USDA will divvy up the funds to 16 rural electric cooperatives that are owned by their members to transition to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The federal investment is expected to spur $29 billion of private investment. 

Together, the projects are expected to create 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs. They will also provide 4,700 megawatts of solar power, 800 megawatts of nuclear power and 357 megawatts of hydropower. One megawatt can power about 1,000 homes.

With a completion deadline of September 2031, the projects are expected to reduce 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The USDA estimates that’s the equivalent of taking more than 10 million cars off the road each year.

Biden on Thursday also specifically touted the $580 million the Dairyland Power Cooperative based in nearby La Crosse is receiving from the New ERA program for four solar installations and four wind power installations. Dairyland generates and transmits electricity to almost 1 million customers in rural parts of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. 

The Dairyland project is expected to reduce 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. Increasing its ratio of renewable electricity generation by 45% will also lower the cost of electricity for co-op customers by 42% over 10 years, Vilsack said. 

”Today’s announcement is about far more than just giving rural America the power to turn on the lights, it's about giving the power to shape our own future,” Biden said on Thursday. 

Wisconsin is a major battleground state but the president’s visit to the Badger State came in a much different context than the nation could have imagined just a few months ago when Biden was still in the running for the White House. The president is now looking to share and cement his legacy as he prepares to leave office in a matter of months. 

The trip to Wisconsin on Thursday marked the president’s first stop on a tour announced this week aimed at connecting with local leaders and everyday Americans on how the president’s policies and signature pieces of legislation are impacting their lives. He is set to travel to Michigan on Friday. 

“In June of 2021, five months after I came to office, I went to nearby La Crosse, Wisconsin. It was the 65th anniversary of President Eisenhower signing the bill that created the interstate highway system,” Biden reflected toward the beginning of his remarks on Thursday. 

“I talked about my vision to do something just as historic, to invest in infrastructure, clean energy, so much more in rural America,” he continued. “I’m back again today to begin a series of trips and events showing that progress we’ve made together by our investing in America agenda – an agenda that has come to fruition over the last decade.” 

The president also gave a nod to the Democratic nominee for vice president Tim Walz, quipping “I think the guy’s going places” as he mentioned speaking about investing in rural communities with the governor in Minnesota last year. 

Other New ERA recipients include Allegheny Electric Cooperative, which serves rural areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey; Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, which serves Arizona and other parts of the Southwest; and Basic Electric Power Cooperative serving Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Parts of rural Alaska, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas and Wyoming will also be funded through the program.