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Rural Development invests over $84M to expand electric infrastructure in KY

Name
Greg Thomas
Phone
City
LEXINGTON, Ky.
Release Date

The United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Kentucky announced today an investment of over $84 million to help expand electric infrastructure in Western Kentucky.

This investment includes over $18.8 million in various smart grid projects, including the installation of 200 miles of fiber backbone.

“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.”

Warren RECC will use an $84.1 million loan to connect 6,716 consumers, and build and improve 791 miles of line. Warren RECC, headquartered in Bowling Green, Ky., serves nearly 68,000 members over 5,753 miles in Barren, Butler, Edmonson, Grayson, Logan, Ohio, Simpson and Warren counties.

Funding for these projects comes through the Electric Loan Program, which 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.

Also announced today were investments in Arizona, 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.

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.

The 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.