Rural South Carolinians will enjoy cleaner energy at lower costs thanks to a last-minute, $500 million investment through the outgoing Biden administration.
Columbia-based Central Electric Power Cooperative Inc., the power supplier for South Carolina’s 19 electric cooperatives, announced Thursday that it will receive about $440 million in grants and $60 million in zero-interest loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), funded by 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
The money will cover 25% of the cost to secure 700 megawatts of carbon-free nuclear and solar energy for rural electric cooperative customers across the Palmetto State.
In terms of greenhouse gas reductions, Central says that’s the equivalent of taking almost a half million gasoline powered cars off the road.
“This is tremendous news for Central, our member cooperatives and the 2 million South Carolinians who rely on electric cooperatives for electricity,” said Central CEO Rob Hochstetler in a statement. “These funds will be a big help as we continue to meet South Carolina’s growing energy demands as safely, reliably, affordably and sustainably as possible.”
The award was part of a larger $6 billion, 21 state clean energy investment announced Jan. 10 by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsak, who noted that the IRA has provided more money for rural electrification than any program since President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act (REA) into law in 1936.
“In just two years, [IRA funded] programs have created dozens of new partnerships with rural electric cooperatives and communities that will reduce pollution, create jobs and make clean energy more affordable for millions of rural Americans,” Vilsack said. “These investments we’re making today will continue to support the health, prosperity and well-being of rural Americans for generations to come.”
According to press reports, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to repeal the IRA, citing higher than expected costs and calling it “the new green scam.”
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