wiredinUSA August 2013

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wiredInUSA - August 2013 47
Rural
infrastructure
funding
awards
The funding will be used to finance the
construction of over 1,000 miles of new or
improved electric line.
Rural utilities and projects which received
loans under the USDA funding include
Seminole Electric Cooperative, Rayle Electric
Membership, Goodhue County Cooperative
Electric Association, Central Electric
Power Cooperative, Central Rural Electric
Cooperative, Black Hills Electric Cooperative
and Lacreek Electric Association, with $9.8m
going to service improvements for Native
American communities.
USDA agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said
fundingfor rural electricutilities isacornerstone
of the Obama administration’s continuing
effort to develop a new rural economy. “It
is also part of our ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy
to support development of energy from
a variety of renewable resources. USDA’s
support of rural electric utilities’ deployment
of smart grid technologies will increase
efficiencies, reliability, and bring more jobs to
rural America,” Vilsack added.
USDA figures show that since 2011, rural utilities
service borrowers have used funding to invest
around $464m in smart grid improvements.
The US department of agriculture
(USDA) has announced $188m in
loan guarantees to upgrade rural
electric infrastructure, including
over $18m in smart grid funding.