Additional Funding Opportunities for Clean Energy Projects

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is hosting our next federal funding fair on May 28, 2024!

Rural Development (RD) recognizes that clean energy support for rural communities is in high demand and is hosting a series of virtual federal funding fairs for entities interested in building clean energy that supports rural communities.  Each virtual funding fair will feature a presenter who will speak about a current federal funding opportunity for clean energy projects in rural American and provide more information about program benefits and eligibility.

For our next webinar, presenters will come from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, U.S Department of Energy’s Energy Improvements for Rural and Remote Areas (ERA) Program, and U.S. Department of Treasury to talk about Elective Pay/Direct Pay benefits. Representatives from USDA will also talk more about USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America (REAP) program and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Programs. Each session will focus on different programs, with this Rural Clean Energy Funding Fair webinar covering the following topics. Please register by selecting the linked sessions below:

Tuesday, May 28, 2024, 2:00pm – 4:00pm EDT:

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will present on funding opportunities available through their Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund – a $27B investment to mobilize financing and private capital to address the climate crisis, ensure our country’s economic competitiveness, and promote energy independence while delivering lower energy costs and economic revitalization to communities that have historically been left behind.
• U.S. Dept. of Energy will present on their Energy Improvements in Rural and Remote Areas (ERA) program and their announcement about the $78M awarded to support 19 projects across 12 states and 13 Tribal nations to develop and deploy sustainable clean energy solutions and expand access to reliable and affordable energy in rural and remote communities across the nation.
• U.S. Dept. of Treasury will present on the Direct Pay/Elective Pay credit delivery mechanism designed to help rural electric cooperatives and other entities gain access to clean energy tax credits for clean energy deployment.
• USDA will present on Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric programs for medium and large utility-scale clean energy projects that serve rural communities and Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) program for small-scale clean energy projects for rural small businesses and agricultural producers.

USDA has also developed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) pocket guides to help applicants navigate the suite of programs that were recently developed for clean energy projects in rural America across several agencies. You will notice that the funding fairs will discuss some of the programs featured in our IRA guides. One of the guides sorts programs by common eligible uses and the other organizes programs by common eligible applicant groups: IRA Pocket Guides | Rural Development (usda.gov).