Empowering Rural America (New ERA)

Federal Agency

Sub-Department

Rural Utilities Service (RUS)

Purpose

To provide loans and other financial assistance for electric cooperatives to achieve emissions reductions through the purchase or deployment of renewable energy, or to make energy efficiency improvements to existing electric generation or transmission systems.

Applicant and/or Project Eligibility Requirements

Eligible recipients include electric cooperatives, particularly those serving predominantly rural areas, and its subsidiaries.

Decarbonization Considerations

The program prioritizes emissions reductions rather than requiring the use of specific technologies. For example, you can seek funding for renewable and zero-emission systems that eliminate aging, obsolete, or expensive infrastructure. You can also change your purchased-power mixes to support cleaner portfolios, manage stranded assets, and boost your transition to clean energy.

Equity Considerations

When building new renewable energy systems, consider designing local workforce development initiatives (i.e. solar training), developing programs that lower income residents and small businesses could subscribe to in order to reduce their energy burden (i.e. community solar), and adequately compensating those communities where new projects are being sited.

Helpful Tips

Applications will be scored and ranked on the greatest reduction in cost-per-unit measure of greenhouse gases. Projects must be reliable, resilient (able to recover quickly following an unexpected disruption), and affordable. The cost of unit of reduction will be considered.

Other Notes

Funding is available until 2031.