Today, the Agriculture Energy Coalition (AgEC) welcomed a letter signed by 24 Members of Congress that urges House Agriculture Committee leaders to preserve the funding for USDA’s Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE), Empowering Rural America (New ERA), and Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) provided in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. AgEC applauded Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D-CO) for leading the letter and all Democratic members of the House Agriculture Committee who signed.
“USDA’s popular energy and bioeconomy loan and grant programs are in great demand by farmers, coops and small businesses. They are urgently needed to assist farms and rural communities transition to clean, affordable energy,” said Lloyd Ritter, AgEC Executive Director. “The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE), Empowering Rural America (New ERA), and Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) are each seeing record applications and funding requests. These programs must remain fully funded to keep humming along as Congress moves forward with the Farm Bill and appropriations.”
The letter notes USDA received:
- A record 750 initial applications to the New ERA program. The proposals from nearly every state that hosts rural electric cooperatives request more than $43 billion to support a total $100 billion in rural clean energy investments.
- 803 project proposals for the PACE program worth $12 billion to build clean energy assets in rural communities.
- A 1000% increase in Fiscal Year 2023 requests for REAP grant, loan, and technical assistance awards.
The letter is available on Rep. Caraveo’s website.
