USDA Invests $598 Million to Improve and Modernize Rural Electric Infrastructure After Severe Weather and Age Test the Grid
Investments will Benefit 460,000 Rural Residents and Businesses
Including major upgrades on the Navajo Nation
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2021 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today a $598 million rural electric loan package to build or improve electric infrastructure in 11 states.
“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to bringing critical financial assistance to rural families and making significant investments in community infrastructure across rural America,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These USDA investments will bring affordable electric power to rural residents, Tribal communities, community facilities, schools and medical institutions that perform critical services each day. Now is the time for our nation to make significant investments in infrastructure — roads, bridges, broadband and energy — to improve quality of life and support good-paying jobs, transition to a clean energy economy, and keep the United States poised to lead the global economy.”
USDA Rural Development acting state director Eric Vigil commented, “This project on the Navajo Nation is huge. When completed we will not only upgrade the electric system on the Navajo Nation, but we will provide electricity to residents who have never had power in their homes.” Vigil added, “This will be a life changing situation for those residents.”
Background:
USDA is investing in 11 projects through the Electric Loan Program. This funding will benefit 460,000 rural residents and businesses in Arizona, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. Several of the loans will help expand smart grid technologies, which can be a catalyst for broadband and other telecommunications services in unserved and underserved rural areas.
The financing for the electric project on the Navajo Nation is being made to the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority (NTUA), headquartered in Fort Defiance, Arizona. The loan package will be in the amount of $235 million to connect 1,340 consumers and build and improve 636 miles of electric line throughout the reservation in Arizona New Mexico and Utah. This loan will also fund transmission expansions and upgrades, and the construction of warehouse and headquarters facilities throughout the reservation. The funding will be used to acquire 5,337 consumers and build 144 miles of transmission line and 221 miles of distribution line near Tuba City and on the Hopi Reservation. Also, $29.4 million of this loan will go to smart grid technologies, including 304 miles of backbone fiber and 27 miles of customer drops.
Below are some other examples of how the funds will be used in other states:
· In Maine, ASP2 Rural LLC will use a $7.7 million loan to develop three solar photovoltaic facilities. The three projects are: Caribou Solar, a 964.6-kilowatt project in Caribou; Dirt Solar, a 3,937-kilowatt project in Skowhegan; and Freeport Solar, a 982.2-kilowatt project in Fairfield.
· In Missouri, the Intercounty Electric Cooperative Association will use a $15 million loan to connect 1,955 consumers and build and improve 136 miles of line. This loan includes $432,000 in smart grid technologies. Intercounty serves approximately 30,000 customers through 5,700 miles of line in nine counties in the state.
USDA’s Electric Loan Program helps finance wind, solar and natural gas plants, as well as improvements to produce clean energy from coal-fired plants. Local utilities also use the loans to invest in infrastructure to deliver affordable power to millions of residential, commercial, and agricultural consumers.
To learn more about electric infrastructure and other investment resources for rural areas, contact the USDA Rural Development state office in Albuquerque, New Mexico at 505-761-4950.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety, and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, Tribal, and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean-energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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