Community Benefits Plan
The Rural Power Coalition (RPC) is a national formation of place-based organizations advocating for the interests of rural communities and member-owners of rural electric cooperatives. To this end, RPC has been among the leading advocates for the New ERA and PACE programs. The spirit of our advocacy is based on our desire for rural communities to benefit from the clean energy transition directly, through economic development and environmental improvement opportunities. An essential part of successfully implementing these programs is Community Benefit Plans.
In accordance with the Notice of Funding Opportunity for New ERA and PACE, the Rural Power Coalition advocates for Community Benefits Plans that follow USDA guidance be submitted with full applications for PACE, and within one year after awards are obligated for New ERA. USDA should not advance the grant portion of the New ERA award until key components of the applicant’s CBP have been implemented.
What is a Community Benefits Plan (CBP) and Why is it Needed?
A CBP is a tool for increasing the benefits that flow to communities with an associated project. CBPs are non-binding agreements between a project applicant or developer and key community and labor stakeholders.
Agencies like the Department of Energy, and now the US Department of Agriculture, are using CBPs to achieve the following outcomes with IRA and IIJA programs:
Accountability for meeting workforce and equity goals
Increased benefits/broadly shared prosperity for communities
Reduced project risk (by reducing community opposition and improving work outcomes)
Increased public support and trust
Long-term success and endurance for project implementation
RPC groups have been preparing for USDA’s Community Benefits Plan by reviewing existing requirements under DOE and engaging in extensive conversations with our members, who work with disadvantaged rural communities across the country.
RPC provided the USDA with a robust list of recommendations for CBP standards, ensuring that awardees:
Provide meaningful community engagement opportunities
Adhere to the principles of DEIA and J40
Direct benefits to small and mid-sized farmers
Enact strong labor and contractor standards and benefits
Can use program funds to deliver community benefits
RPC is available as a resource to help rural electric co-ops with their CBP development and to increase community engagement in the process.
If you would like to learn more, please fill out this form, and a member of RPC will get back to you.
The above guide is also available as a PDF here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ah_d6RLz7wIgFfx674S5LJWMXjBboid-/view?usp=sharing