COLUMBUS, OH—Buckeye Power, Inc., was one of 16 electric cooperatives selected nationwide to receive a portion of $7.3 billion to build additional renewable energy projects to power ƹ϶Ƶ’s 24 electric cooperatives. During a visit to Wisconsin today, President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will formally announce the 16 cooperatives selected to receive the financing through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, which is part of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The program received 157 letters of interest for 750 projects across the country. Buckeye Power, Inc. is honored to have its proposed projects selected.
“Buckeye Power will use the New ERA funds to deploy 36MW of renewable energy and 80 MWH of energy storage across rural ƹ϶Ƶ, in conjunction with closure of Cardinal Unit 3,” said Pat O’Loughlin, President and CEO of ƹ϶Ƶ’s Electric Cooperatives and Buckeye Power, Inc. “We anticipate this will further lower our carbon footprint by 1.9 million tons annually and reduce power generation rates paid by our members into the future—all while supporting our commitment to provide reliable, affordable environmentally responsible electricity to cooperative members. Buckeye looks forward to working with its members to finalize the community benefit plans associated with these projects.”
The funding supports ƹ϶Ƶ’s Electric Cooperatives’ and Buckeye Power’s mission to deploy an all-of-the-above approach to power generation. Current generation assets include coal-fired generation, natural gas, hydropower, solar, wind, and biogas from farms and landfills.
“The Inflation Reduction Act makes the largest investment in rural electrification since FDR and the New Deal in the 1930s,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s awards will bring clean, affordable, reliable power to rural Americans all across our nation.”
Full USDA release available