Colorado gets $2.5B in federal taxpayer dollars for rural electricity expansion

(The Center Square) - Colorado rural electricity cooperatives are receiving $2.5 billion in low-cost financing and grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's New Empowering Rural America program to bolster the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association’s clean energy transition.

Two new Colorado co-ops, Yampa Valley Electric Association and Poudre Valley REA (PVREA), will also advance in the New ERA award process.

“With [the Inflation Reduction Act], we are rapidly deploying clean energy and boosting American manufacturing for wind, solar, and batteries,” U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, said in a statement. “Most important, we put rural America at the center of this transition. Actually, rural America put rural America at the center of this transition because of these co-ops in Colorado.”

“Co-ops deliver power to over 70 percent of our state," Bennet added. "They reach all four corners, and they serve nearly 1.5 million people. And I think Colorado co-ops are uniquely positioned to drive economic opportunity for rural America, to set a standard for the rest of the country and the rest of the world, and are critical to our affordable transition to clean energy. The funding announced today is going to help our co-ops modernize their energy infrastructure, cut pollution, create high-paying jobs where we need them most, and lower energy costs for farms, for families, and for small businesses all over our state. I’m so grateful that, as usual, Colorado is leading the way.”

The funding aims to bring affordable, reliable, and clean electricity to rural communities across Colorado.

The Biden administration recently made over $3 billion in New ERA funding available. The initiatives -- which target Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Wyoming -- will create over 2,000 jobs, save rural farmers and businesses $430 million over 10 years, and eliminate 5.8 million tons of greenhouse emissions, according to a press release from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

This is in addition to the $1.1 billion rural cooperatives in Colorado received last month from the New ERA program.

"The New ERA program is a $9.7 billion program created in the IRA that helps rural electric cooperatives transition to clean, affordable, and reliable energy," the release from Bennet's office said. "It represents the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal."

Bennet helped secure about $13 billion in rural clean energy initiatives via the Inflation Reduction Act, including the New ERA program.