New ERA Program Offers $9.7B for Rural Electric Cooperatives
New ERA Program Offers $9.7B for Rural Electric Cooperatives
The program focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and can be used to fund renewable energy projects, grid investments, and grid-enhancing technologies.
The Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program is a $9.7 billion program that will provide funding to rural electric cooperatives with the goal of supporting their transition to clean, affordable, and reliable energy. The program is designed to be flexible, with the primary focus being the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions through the cooperatives’ voluntary transformation of rural electric systems in a way that promotes resiliency and reliability of rural electric systems and affordability for their members
How the New ERA Program Can Help Rural Electric Utilities
The New ERA Program can help rural electric cooperatives achieve these goals in two main areas including:
- Funding for renewable energy projects: Funding for rural electric utilities to install renewable energy projects, such as solar and wind farms. This can help rural electric utilities to decrease their reliance on fossil fuels and to reduce their environmental impact.
- Funding for grid investments or tools that enable the deployment of renewable energy projects and/or improve grid efficiencies to support the goals of this program: Eligible technologies in this category include transmission investments that improve the energy efficiency of transmission, enable renewable energy, and/or reduce congestion. These applications can help rural electric utilities and their customers both reduce their energy consumption and save money on their energy bills.
Timeline
Letters of Intent (LOI) can be submitted between July 31, 2023, and August 31, 2023. After applicants submit the LOI, the Department of Rural Utilities Services will provide an Invitation to Proceed to selected projects; selected applicants then have 60 days to complete a New Era Application. Both the LOI and Application are subject to the criteria in the notice. Project grants or loans will be disbursed until September 30, 2031.
Eligibility
Electric Cooperatives that meet any of the below criteria are eligible to participate:
- those that serve predominantly rural areas;
- 501(c)(12) or 1381(a)(2) Electric Cooperatives; or
- wholly or jointly owned subsidiaries of electric co-ops meeting one of the former two criteria.
Proposed projects have to demonstrate GHG reductions by either entering data to estimate GHG reductions to an online estimator or by submitting a completed achievable reduction tool into the online submission portal.
Types of Awards
Loans, grants, or a combination of the two are available. A 100 percent grant award is capped at no more than 25 percent of the total eligible project costs.
Types of Projects
Projects must reduce emissions and be consistent with the long-term resiliency, reliability, and affordability of rural electric systems. This includes the purchase/construction of an eligible renewable energy system (solar, carbon capture, storage, etc.) and activities that enable their deployment or improve efficiencies and strategies.
Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) enable the deployment of and improve the efficiencies of renewable energy systems by providing:
- The upgrade of existing energy systems or related transmission facilities that increase the operating energy efficiency of these systems;
or
- Transmission improvements that can significantly enable renewable energy systems and zero emissions systems, reduce congestion, and improve the efficiency of the system.
Grid Enhancing Technologies
GETs are specifically called out as a viable project in the New ERA funding, GETs are a set of technologies that can be used to improve the performance of the electric grid. GETs can increase the capacity, efficiency, and reliability of the grid, and can make the grid more resilient to disruptions.
Some of the most common GETs include:
- Dynamic Line Ratings (DLR): DLR is a technology that uses real-time data to calculate the actual capacity of a transmission line. This can help to increase the capacity of the grid without the need for expensive upgrades.
- Advanced Power Flow Control (APF): APF is a technology that uses software to control the flow of electricity on the grid. This can help to reduce congestion and improve the efficiency of the grid.
- Topology Optimization: Topology optimization is a technique that can be used to find the best way to reconfigure the grid. This can help to reduce congestion and improve the reliability of the grid.
How LineVision Can Help
LineVision’s grid-enhancing technology can help rural electric utilities to improve the reliability and efficiency of their grids, and to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. With non-contact sensors and best-in-class data science, we provide dynamic line ratings (DLR) and situational awareness of transmission infrastructure. DLR can increase the capacity of transmission lines by up to 40%, which can help to get renewable energy and large C&I developments online. With situational awareness, we can provide real-time data on the condition of power lines, which can help utilities to identify and address potential problems before they cause outages.
We are excited to see the New ERA Program as an opportunity to partner with rural electric utilities as they transition to a clean energy future. We believe our technology can play a key role in enabling rural electric utilities achieve their clean energy goals, all with cost-effective solutions that enable a more sustainable and less costly grid.
Our top-tier team of data scientists, applications engineers, and regulatory experts are ready to help you site out a project and apply for New ERA funding.
Reach out today to take advantage of this opportunity to upgrade your system and meet climate goals
