USDA dishes out $6M for small hydro, solar, storage facilities in Vermont

(Credit: Department of Environmental Conservation)

As part of a broader package of $78.3 million in partially forgivable loans for clean energy projects through the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $6 million to develop small hydroelectric and solar facilities with a backup battery energy storage system in Vermont.

The Town of Stowe Electric Department’s plan is one of seven projects receiving funding in the latest round of funding. USDA is awarding $78.3 million in partially forgivable loans to organizations based in Maryland, Ohio, Vermont, Washington, and American Samoa. The investments will provide clean energy to power almost 7,000 households each year.

In addition to the seven entities receiving funding, USDA has selected 32 applications across 23 states and Puerto Rico to move forward in the process to help make clean, affordable, and reliable energy accessible to the people of rural America. These were the first selectees under the PACE program’s rolling application process.

Additional hydro-related funding recipients include:

  • Lock 9 Hydro Partners ($19,297,000) – Kentucky: Lock 9 Hydro Partners LLC is expected to receive ~$19.3 million a partially forgivable loan to build a run-of-river hydroelectric plant on the Kentucky River generating 3 megawatts of renewable energy for Jessamine County.
  • Lock 10 Hydro Partners, LLC ($18,859,000)- Kentucky: Kentucky: Lock 10 Hydro Partners LLC is expected to receive a ~$18.9 million partially forgivable loan to build a run-of-river hydroelectric plant on the Kentucky River generating 3 megawatts of renewable energy for Madison County.
  • Lock 11 Hydro Partners, LLC ($16,584,000) – Kentucky: Lock 11 Hydro Partners LLC is expected to receive approximately $16.6 million a partially forgivable loan to build a new 3-megawatt run-of-river hydroelectric plant at Lock and Dam 11 on the Kentucky River. This project will use modern run-of-river energy practices that limit the environmental impact of hydropower and ensure affordable, clean energy for rural Kentuckians.
  • Lock 13 Hydro Partners, LLC ($17,687,000)- Kentucky: Lock 13 Hydro Partners LLC received a ~$17.7 million partially forgivable loan investment to build a run-of-river hydroelectric plant on the Kentucky River generating 3 megawatts of renewable energy for Lee County, which is also an RPN community.

The funding for USDA’s PACE program comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in rural electrification since President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936 as part of the New Deal.

In May 2023, USDA made $1 billion available through PACE to fund new clean energy projects and energy storage in rural America. This program provides low-interest loans with up to 60% loan forgiveness to renewable energy developers, rural electric cooperatives, and other rural energy providers for renewable energy storage and projects that use wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass. To date, USDA has selected 34 projects totaling more than $995 million in partially forgivable loans to move forward in the PACE application process.

USDA has been pumping out funds at a rapid pace in recent weeks. Just before Halloween, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced more than $3 billion in New ERA financing, including almost $2.5 billion for the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and nearly $1 billion for six selected rural electric cooperatives, the “backbone” of America’s rural power delivery. Last month, USDA announced another round of investments in clean energy projects for farms and small businesses through REAP totaling more than $256 million in loans and grants that will support more than 1,100 clean energy projects in 40 states. Then just last week, Vilsack opened up his big sack of cash once again, announcing that USDA is investing another $6.3 billion into more than 200 projects in rural and Tribal communities across 44 states.

USDA expects to provide a further update on the PACE program in the coming weeks.

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