$315 million for cleaner, more efficient energy in rural U.S.

(Photo by Ben Hasty, Reading Eagle via Getty Images)

Having consistent electricity can be tough and pricey for rural dwellers. "One-sixth of U.S households are in rural communities, where people often pay a larger share of their income for electricity. Reliability can be spotty, and investment in de-carbonization scant," reports Katie Myers of Grist. "Geographically scattered towns and aging infrastructure can make maintaining the grid expensive. Even simple steps to improve energy efficiency, like insulating an attic, can be out of reach for cash-poor residents, especially renters."

The Department of Energy aims to lessen some price tag troubles "by dedicating $315 million toward a sweeping effort to help rural and tribal communities modernize their electrical grids nationwide, invest in renewables, and help residents increase energy efficiency of their homes," Myers writes. A senior Energy Department official told Myers, "There isn't one ideal project. We're casting a wide net." Myers explains, "The funding is part of a broader effort to allocate more than $1 billion over the next five years to support energy projects in communities of less than 10,000 people. The goal is to promote climate resilience and address the rural energy cost burden — defined as the percentage of a household's income allocated toward energy bills each month — through 'replicable energy projects that lower energy costs, improve energy access/resilience, and/or reduce environmental harm.'"

The investments will be a first for some areas. "Brett Isaac, the founder and executive chairman of public benefit renewable energy corporation Navajo Power, said public assistance in funding the energy transition is essential for communities that have long been left behind." Isaac told Myers: "The investment from the various opportunities under the Biden administration, from infrastructure to the Inflation Reduction Act … these are all monumental because they're actually putting quantifiable investments into certain areas that have never really experienced them.' . . . Almost 30 percent of the Navajo reservation's homes still don't have electricity."

Some areas are ready to get started. "In Kentucky, Chris Woolery, a residential energy coordinator with the Mountain Association, can't wait to help rural power companies and electric cooperatives access federal funding. Advocates throughout the state have been laying the groundwork for a renewable transition for many years. . . . Woolery noted that the state is grappling with banning utilities from accepting federal funds to shut down coal plants. . . . Woolery said energy efficiency and distributed renewables could increase grid resiliency during extreme weather. Woolery told Myers, "We're working towards a vision in which access to energy is just a human right."

Myers adds, "Applications for the funds are due in June, and must include a 'community benefits plan' outlining how the project will ensure worker safety, fair wages, and diversity in hiring."