LA CROSSE, WI— As part of its actions to advance the clean energy transition, Dairyland Power Cooperative has submitted a Letter of Interest (LOI) for funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s New Empowering Rural America (New ERA) grants program. Dairyland proposed an extensive portfolio of clean energy projects, including eight solar and four wind energy resources in Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota, as part of its grant application.
The portfolio submitted by Dairyland was carefully cultivated to deliver significant emissions reductions, while supporting economic growth in our rural area service territories.
“As a wholesale power provider to a rural and suburban membership, funding through New ERA will boost Dairyland’s progress towards low-carbon goals while maintaining a reliable, affordable supply of energy,” said Dairyland President & CEO Brent Ridge. “We are grateful for this opportunity, which will help rural residents develop and benefit from renewable resources in their backyard.”
NTEC Will Support Expansion of Renewables: Essential to Dairyland’s robust renewable energy planning is the Nemadji Trail Energy Center (NTEC), planned in Superior, Wis. As a reliable, low emissions natural gas power plant which will ramp up and down quickly to support renewable energy, NTEC is key to the clean energy transition. In addition to keeping the lights on at any time and in any weather, NTEC will reduce CO2 emissions by an average of 964,000 tons per year. This is the equivalent of removing 190,000 internal combustion engine cars from the road each year. (Study: 1898 & Co.)
About the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program: Part of the Inflation Reduction Act, it is a $9.7 billion program to reduce greenhouse gases and deploy renewable energy. New ERA represents the largest investment in rural electrification since President Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936. For more information, click here.
About Dairyland Power Cooperative: Headquartered in La Crosse, Wis., Dairyland provides the wholesale electrical requirements for 24 distribution cooperatives and 27 municipal utilities. These cooperatives and municipals, in turn, supply the energy needs of approximately 700,000 people in the four-state service area. Dairyland delivers electricity via 3,300 miles of transmission lines and 232 substations located throughout the system’s 44,500 square mile service area. Visit www.DairylandPower.com.
