2023 proved to be another pivotal year in the fight for the future of Rural Electric Cooperatives. Because of the continued advocacy of constituents like you and the diligent lobbying efforts of the Rural Power Coalition (RPC) and other rural institutions, rural communities have been able to access the most significant investment in rural electrification in US history through the PACE, NewERA, and REAP programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
RPC is a group of 17 place-based organizations representing rural electric cooperative member-owners from the five dirtiest electric co-ops and other disadvantaged rural areas throughout the United States. RPC sees a future for electric cooperatives that is grounded in justice, democracy, and resilience. To achieve this vision, the Coalition has put forth a bold yet common-sense proposal to help all rural electric cooperatives make this transition and build a clean energy system for every resident in their service areas.
Shareable is a working partner in the Coalition and has led communications since RPC was founded in 2021.
These are some of the highlights from RPC’s work this year:
New ERA + PACE Applications Demonstrate the Need and Interest of RECs to Make a Just Transition
The Empowering Rural America program (New ERA), funded at $9.7B in the IRA, provides grants and loans for rural electric cooperatives to reduce greenhouse gasses and upgrade their transmission systems. As of September 2023, USDA had received 157 Letters of Interest for New ERA, totaling $70B in requests – 600% above existing funding levels.
The Powering Affordable Clean Energy program (PACE), funded at $1B in the IRA, provides partially forgivable loans to entities producing energy for resale to invest in renewable energy or storage systems in areas with populations of 20,000 or less. As of September 2023, PACE had received Letters of Interest totaling $7.6B in requests – 660% above current funding levels.
Participation in USDA Listening Sessions to Shape New ERA and PACE
While nearly $11B in funding for RECs was included in the IRA, the question of how the funding would allocated and for what types of projects was left to the discretion of the USDA. That’s why we made the implementation of the IRA our most significant priority for 2023. RPC members and allies attended and delivered critical and aligned comments at most of the thirteen listening sessions hosted by the Rural Utility Service in January of 2023 regarding the design of IRA sections 22001 and 22004.
Read more: https://www.ruralpower.us/blog/ira-rec-public-sessions-start-this-week
RPC was Invited to Celebrate the Official Announcement at the White House
Members of RPC were at the White House for the official announcement of the historic investments in rural electrification that we fought for. Four leaders of our Coalition joined cooperative leaders from around the country and our legislative champions to celebrate this landmark opportunity.
RPC Hosted 30+ Congressional Meetings and Briefings
We continued our legislative work to ensure that our Congressional Representatives understood how New ERA, PACE, and other federal programs would benefit rural communities. We also used the opportunities to highlight why these programs only represent a small portion of the funding needed and why RECs need more support in the Farm Bill and other future spending allocations.
Partnership with Stanford University on an 8-week Course for Community Benefits Agreements
RPC members participated in a short graduate course at Stanford University in the Spring of 2023. They attended weekly class meetings and provided feedback on a new tool developed by graduate students to help cooperatives hone their application for New ERA funding. Community Benefits Agreements are required for all New ERA projects, and the instrument was designed to chart a range of clean energy and energy efficiency investment options that could be tailored to a given co-op.
More Resources for Co-ops and Communities
We created several new resources to assist member-owners and rural advocates working with RECs to support their applications for federal funding. We also produced a series of 1-pagers summarizing cutting-edge approaches to increasing energy efficiency and reliability through renewable energy that is reliable and more affordable than fossil fuel-based energy production.
Here are two recent examples:
Finally, We had our First In-Person Coalition Retreat
RPC gathered in Louisville, KY, this past October to strategize on how best to maximize the impact of hard-won federal funding for RECs. Since the Coalition was formed in 2020 during the pandemic, this was the first chance for many of us to meet in person!
Here’s to many more years of advocating for Rural Electric Cooperatives and the rural communities they serve!
