WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday announced $78.3 million in partially forgivable loans for clean energy projects through the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program to help lower electricity bills for households, expand reliable access to renewable energy and create jobs for rural families, small businesses and agricultural producers.

The funding for USDA’s PACE program is from the Inflation Reduction Act, which is 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. Inflation Reduction Act programs partner with rural communities to deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy.

“Partnering with local governments, companies, and others to provide clean, reliable energy to rural Americans lower’s people’s costs, strengthens the nation’s energy security and reduces pollution,” Secretary Vilsack said.

    In American Samoa, Banana Solar LLC plans to use a $12 million investment to develop a 6.6-megawatt solar and battery energy storage system for renewable energy. This will provide power to approximately 1,300 households on Tutuila Island, meeting nearly 6% of their energy needs with renewable energy.

    Also in American Samoa, Mana Solar LLC plans to use a $23.5 million investment to develop a 13.4-megawatt community solar and battery energy storage system. This will provide power to approximately 2,500 households on Tutuila Island, meeting nearly 12% of their energy needs with renewable energy.

    In Maryland, Gridwealth-SCP LLC’s GreenGage plans to use a $9.3 million investment to construct a 4.3-megawatt solar facility and battery energy storage system for renewable energy in Dorchester County. It will provide clean energy to 650 households annually.

    Also in Maryland, Gridwealth-SCP LLC’s Rosehip plans to use a $12.9 million investment to construct a 6.2-megawatt solar facility and battery energy storage system for renewable energy in Somerset County. It will provide clean energy to approximately 910 households annually.

    In Ohio, the Village of Pioneer will use a $10.5 million investment to finance solar facilities totaling 4.9 megawatts of renewable energy in rural areas, enough to power nearly 952 households a year.

    In Washington, Cunningham Solar WA will use a $4 million investment to develop nearly 3 megawatts of solar for renewable energy in rural areas. It will interconnect with Big Bend Electric Cooperative’s distribution system, supplying power to roughly 560 households each year.

In addition to the seven entities receiving funding today, 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.

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.