U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development is hosting next federal funding fair on July 11, 2024

Rural Development (RD) recognizes that clean energy support for rural communities is in high demand and is hosting a series of virtual federal funding fairs for entities interested in building clean energy that supports rural communities. Each virtual funding fair will feature a presenter who will speak about a current federal funding opportunity for clean energy projects in rural American and provide more information about program benefits and eligibility.

For our next webinar, presenters will come from U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs, Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chain, Solar Energy Technology Office, and their Loan Programs Office. Representatives from USDA will also talk more about USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America (REAP) program and Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Programs. Each session will focus on different programs, with this Rural Clean Energy Funding Fair webinar covering the following topics. Please register by selecting the linked sessions below:

Thursday, July 11, 2024, 2:00pm – 3:00pm EDT:
DOE’s Office of State and Community Energy Programs (SCEP) works with state and local organizations to significantly accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies, catalyze local economic development and create jobs, reduce energy costs, and avoid pollution through place-based strategies involving a wide range of government, community, business, and other stakeholders. SCEP manages programs such as the State Energy Program, Weatherization Assistance Program, Energy Efficiency & Conservation Block Grant Program, and the Home Energy Rebates Program.

Thursday, July 11, 2024, 4:00 – 5:00pm EDT:
USDA will present on Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric programs for medium and large utility-scale clean energy projects that serve rural communities and Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS) Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) program for small-scale clean energy projects for rural small businesses and agricultural producers.

USDA has also developed Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) pocket guides to help applicants navigate the suite of programs that were recently developed for clean energy projects in rural America across several agencies. You will notice that the funding fairs will discuss some of the programs featured in our IRA guides. One of the guides sorts programs by common eligible uses and the other organizes programs by common eligible applicant groups: IRA Pocket Guides | Rural Development (usda.gov).