Megan Wittman, megan.wittman@sierraclub.org
La Crosse, WISCONSIN – Today, President Biden announced that Dairyland Power Cooperative will be awarded nearly $573 million through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program for Dairyland to procure 1,080 megawatts (MWs) of clean energy, including power purchase agreements for four solar installations and four wind power installations across rural Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa. With these investments, Dairyland customers’ electric rates are estimated to lower by 42 percent over 10 years than they would have been without the New ERA funding.
The award will drive an estimated $2.1 billion in clean energy investments throughout the region, and is projected to cut pollution by an estimated 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually– the equivalent of taking 729,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road every year– or 90 million tons over the lifespan of the projects.
While Dairyland is the first cooperative to sign an agreement with USDA under the New ERA program, the President announced that 15 other rural electric cooperatives were finalists for New ERA funding, with agreements forthcoming. These cooperatives, collectively serving one-fifth of rural Americans, are in line to receive more than $7.3 billion in federal grants and loans for clean energy investments. The projects funded by today’s announcement will drive an estimated $29 billion in new clean energy investments, and, according to USDA, reduce or avoid an estimated 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions. This funding will allow these leading electric cooperatives to tap low cost clean energy, improving affordability and resilience, and lowering costs for their members.
Elizabeth Ward, Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter Director, released the following statement:
“This is exciting news for Dairyland Power’s customers across the state and across the border in Minnesota, and we thank President Biden for his continued commitment to strengthen rural communities both in Wisconsin and across the country. With this award, cooperatives like Dairyland are able to re-envision what clean energy can mean for their system and harness the cost and emissions savings. We hope that with this award and these investments, Dairyland will be able to show leadership in decarbonizing its system and bringing resilient, cost-effect clean energy to its members.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.