New ERA Applications for $10.7B are Now Open!
There's no reason to bury the lede. After years of research, dreaming, organizing, partnership development, coalition building, champion courting, and tireless advocacy, the day has finally come for USDA to make "$9.7 billion available in grants, loans, and loan modification under the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program to help rural cooperatives deploy renewable energy systems [Yay!], zero-emission [Yay!], and carbon capture systems [Boo!!]."
The countdown has officially begun, and there is now a mere 45 days to submit a Letter of Inquiry before the September 15th (extended) due date.
Key Resources:
Official Announcement: https://www.rd.usda.gov/media/file/download/usda-rd-sa-new-era-letters-interest-07272023.pdf
The associated Federal Register notice: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2023-07-27/pdf/2023-15897.pdf
[13-page] Memo describing all the steps to submit the 3-page Letter of Interest (LOI): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RZiivPbiB42DVCujEluEoPcrAS6YJ3lN/view?usp=drivesdk
Sample Letter of Interest:
https://www.rd.usda.gov/media/file/download/final-sample-letter-interest-new-era-07242023.pdfUse this template letter to encourage your distribution co-op to take advantage of New ERA and PACE (all you need to do is add the name of a co-op manager or board member, the name of your co-op, and sign your name).
Download our 4-page guide for information about each REC focused IRA program, including New ERA (Empowering Rural America), Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Direct Pay Tax Credits, and Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE).
This Spring, the Stanford School of Sustainability's policy lab course focused on New ERA. It produced a Distillation of the Notice Of Funding Opportunity for the New ERA program and a worksheet for preparing a Letter of Interest.
The policy lab is a Cardinal Service course with engaged community partners (many of which were RPC lead organizations), including Alabama Interfaith Power & Light, Appalachian Electric, CURE, Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, Renew Missouri, and Western Organizing Resource Council.
As noted on the cover page of each, the first point of information for the New ERA program is the USDA's dedicated webpage and the 25 General Field Representatives for the Rural Utilities Service.
Calculators for GHG metrics and stranded assets are also posted on the To Apply section of the New ERA homepage, along with answers to more than 100 questions in the 5th edition of a Q&A document.
Upcoming Webinars
USDA staff will host webinars via Zoom at the following dates and times:
New ERA Office Hours
When: Aug 15, 2:00 p.m., ET | Aug 15 Registration
New ERA Application Webinar
When: Sept 20, 2:00 p.m., ET | Sept 20 Registration
Webinars will be recorded for interested parties who are not able to attend. Once they are available, the recordings will be posted here.