At the same time he announced $2.2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for rural electric cooperatives, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack acknowledged on Wednesday fears that U.S. farmland will be covered by wind turbines and solar collectors. “We know that there are some concerns out there about whether renewable energy will overtake prime farmland,” he said.
“We’re obviously encouraging use of non-prime farmland for purposes of renewable energy,” said Vilsack, speaking at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s annual meeting in San Antonio.
Discussion of renewable energy projects should include an examination of how farming might be impacted, he said. “It’s one of the reasons we announced our RAISE initiative.” The Rural and Agricultural Income and Savings from Rural Energy initiative has an initial goal of helping 400 farmers to install small-scale wind projects to power their own operations or to sell wind-generated electricity, perhaps working with several neighbors, to their local utility.
By some estimates, 10 million acres of solar collectors will be needed to help meet U.S. clean energy goals by 2050. The 2022 climate, healthcare, and tax law provided tax credits for wind, solar, energy storage, and other renewable energy projects.
The USDA will award a total of $2.2 billion to 39 projects in 21 states to improve electrical service for 2 million people in rural areas, “putting resources in new infrastructure and smart grid technology and renewable energy systems,” said Vilsack. The money comes from the Electric Infrastructure Loan & Loan Guarantee Program.
Recipients range from Sumter Electric Cooperative, in Sumter, Florida, allotted $317.4 million for work that includes building and improving 1,099 miles of line, to Charles Mix Electric Association, in Lake Andes, South Dakota, allocated $1.3 million to finance electricity distribution facilities.
Vilsack also announced the first awards through the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program — five projects totaling $139 million in Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, and Nebraska. The projects involve solar power generation and battery storage. PACE was created with funding from the 2022 climate law.