USDA Awards $7 Billion For Rural Co-Ops To Deploy Low-Carbon Power

The Agriculture Department (USDA) is awarding over $7 billion in grants and loans to rural electric cooperatives to deploy wind and solar power instillations and other low-carbon projects, with the Biden administration hoping to nudge the power providers to reduce their heavy reliance on coal power. Co-ops are broadly applauding the grants -- arguing they embrace “local solutions” and strengthen the grid -- even as they remain strongly opposed to EPA’s rules that require power plants to reduce greenhouse gas...