Biden pledges $7.3B in 'clean energy' spending with national debt at $35T

President Biden will pledge $7.3 billion in "clean energy" spending during a visit to the battleground state of Wisconsin on Thursday as the national debt sits at more than $35 trillion. 

During a visit to Westby, Wisconsin, on Thursday, Biden and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce more than $7.3 billion in financing for rural electric cooperatives to build clean energy for rural communities across the country through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program. The administration championed how the New ERA and other investments in rural clean energy in the president’s Inflation Reduction Act make up 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.

The 16 selections – funded by Biden’s Investing in America agenda – will leverage private investments of more than $29 billion to build more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy for rural communities across the country and will reduce and avoid at least 43.7 million tons of greenhouse gases annually, equivalent to removing more than 10 million cars off the road every year, according to the administration. 

"It's an exciting announcement with a massive impact across 23 states to bring the promise of clean energy and lower costs to approximately 5 million rural households, representing 20% of the nation's entire rural household, as well as farms and businesses that are located in those 23 states," Vilsack told reporters on a call Wednesday previewing the announcement. 

The rollout comes as the U.S. Treasury Department lists the national debt as more than $35 trillion. Yet, the White House fact sheet billed the announcement as part of the president's "series designed to demonstrate how the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is improving the lives of Americans across the country and planting the seeds of a better future for decades to come." 

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White House Deputy Chief of Staff Natalie Quillian told reporters on Wednesday that "manufacturing is making a comeback in communities across the country," touting Biden’s Investing in America agenda, which includes the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Chips and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. 

"His agenda has spurred over $910 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments," Quillian said of Biden. "We're building a clean energy economy that is lowering costs for millions of families and businesses, and we're making the most ambitious investments in our infrastructure, including high speed internet, clean water and clean electricity in a generation." 

"Importantly, in 2021, he talked about the need for good paying jobs and opportunities in rural America and the need to address our climate crisis, and tomorrow, he will announce $7.3 billion from his Inflation Reduction Act for clean, affordable, reliable electricity," the deputy chief of staff added. "It's the largest investment in rural electrification since FDR administration and will spur economic development and lower costs for millions of Americans. And it will create 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs." 

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In Wisconsin, Dairyland Power Cooperative is receiving the first New ERA award of nearly $573 million, which they will leverage for a total project investment of $2.1 billion. 

Dairyland plans to procure 1,080 megawatts of renewable energy through eight wind and solar power purchase agreements, four solar installations and four wind power installations across rural portions of Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois, according to the White House. Dairyland estimates that electric rates for their members will be 42% lower over 10 years than they would have been without New ERA funding.

"This is a $573 million commitment that the USDA is making, with the Inflation Reduction Act resources, in the form of a grant of nearly $471 million and a loan of nearly $102 million," Vilsack said Wednesday. "This is going to establish an opportunity for this particular cooperative to purchase, to finance eight power purchase agreements for solar installations, for wind power installations across their service territory in Wisconsin. This is an opportunity, over the next ten years, to lower the cost of electricity for the customers of the Dairyland Cooperative by nearly 42%." 

The White House said the 16 cooperatives are intended to benefit rural communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming

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The secretary said Dairyland Cooperative will also make its own investment into the project and fund community benefit plans. "The total cost of the project will be a little over $2 billion," Vilsack told reporters. "These benefit plans are designed to provide direct assistance and help to farmers, who will benefit from this clean energy as well as connecting to employment opportunities."