Mountain Parks Electric, a member-owned electric utility cooperative, signed on a letter of commitment with the USDA Rural Utilities Services on Jan. 14 and received $100 million over 20 years from the Empowering Rural America program. The funding will be used to generate renewable energy for local communities.
A total of $3.4 billion has been invested by the USDA to lower energy costs for rural communities in Colorado since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, according to Sen. Michael Bennet’s office. The Empowering Rural American program is also called the New ERA program, and it’s meant to help rural Americans get better access to clean, affordable and reliable energy. The program aims to help fund member-owned rural electrical cooperatives, like Mountain Parks Electric.
Mountain Parks Electric will be using the investment to procure more than 300,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy through power purchase agreements in rural areas. This is estimated to power nearly 18,500 homes annually.
The company submitted a community benefit plan to acquire funding for the various projects, including advancing and promoting scholarships and apprenticeship programs, expanding support of affordable housing and low-income families, stabilizing costs for rural cooperative members and reducing climate pollution. According to the release, these projects will reduce the pollution equivalent of nearly 70,000 gas-powered cars annually.
The release states that the investment will help Mountain Parks Electric by ensuring that it remains financially viable and competitive while ensuring the “long-term prosperity” of the community. Mountain Parks Electric General Manager Virginia Harman said in the release that the company is eager to advance innovative energy solutions for rural communities.