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PCCA Journal|2

nd

Quarter 2015

37

RUS NEWS

USDA Announces Funding

for Rural Electric Projects

U

SDA Secretary Tom Vilsack

on April 21 announced fund-

ing for six rural electric in-

frastructure projects, includ-

ing three in North Carolina that will use

solar energy to generate electricity for

rural communities. Vilsack announced

$72 million in electric infrastructure

investments.

The announcement included a $20

million loan to help Montgomery Solar

Owner, LLC, in Cornelius, N.C., build a

20 megawatt solar farm. Chocowinity So-

lar, LLC and Cirrus Solar, LLC (both also

based in Cornelius) will each receive $5

million loans to build 5 megawatt solar

farms. Combined, the Chocowinity, Cir-

rus, and Montgomery solar projects will

generate 30 megawatts of power.

The announcement also included a

$17 million loan to Rolling Hills Electric

Cooperative, Inc. in Kansas to build

or improve 197 miles of transmission

and distribution line and make other

system improvements. The loan includes

$315,000 for smart grid projects.

Broad River Electric Cooperative,

which serves rural customers in North

and South Carolina, will receive an $18

million loan to build or improve 138

miles of line and make other system im-

provements. The loan includes $347,360

for smart grid projects.

In Vermont, the Washington Electric

Cooperative, Inc. has been selected to

receive a $7 million loan to build or

improve 46 miles of line and make other

system improvements. The loan includes

$185,330 for smart grid projects.

The USDA announcement coincided

with the Obama administration’s first-

ever Quadrennial Energy Review (QER),

a multiyear roadmap for U.S. energy

policy. The report presents a set of find-

ings and recommendations focused on

the federal role, and organized around

the high-level goals of energy security,

economic competitiveness, and environ-

mental responsibility.

The QER focuses on energy transmis-

sion, storage, and distribution infrastruc-

ture—the networks of pipelines, wires,

storage, waterways, railroads, and other

facilities that form the backbone of our

energy system. The QER identifies op-

portunities these systems provide for a

clean and secure energy future, as well

as some growing and potential vulner-

abilities of these systems. The report also

proposes policy recommendations and

investments to replace, protect, expand,

and modernize TS&D infrastructure

where appropriate.

Learn more about the Quadrennial En-

ergy Review at www.rd.usda.gov/files/

RD-USDA-RUS%20QER.pdf.

USDA Announces Funding for

Broadband Projects in Three States

A

griculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in March

announced that USDA has funded three rural

telecommunications infrastructure projects that

will improve broadband service in portions of

rural Arkansas, Iowa, and New Mexico.

Southwest Arkansas Telephone will receive a $25 million

loan to upgrade portions of a fiber network and convert the

remaining portions of a copper system to fiber to improve

service for subscribers.

In New Mexico, Mescalero Apache Telecom will receive a

$5.4 million loan to upgrade portions of its system and pro-

vide fiber service to approximately 50 percent of its territory.

This is the first loan that USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS)

has made under the Substantially Underserved Trust Area

provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill. These provisions amended

the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to make funding avail-

able to areas that historically have had difficulty receiving

federal assistance. RUS has held a series of outreach work-

shops around the country in the past year to help Tribal com-

munities access RUS broadband programs.

Iowa’s Minburn Communications has been selected to

receive a $4.7 million loan to upgrade its copper network to

fiber and to provide subscribers with voice, broadband, and

video service.

USDA is providing a total of $35 million in broadband

infrastructure loans in this announcement. In 2014, the Rural

Utilities Service awarded $228 million to improve telecommu-

nications service for 83,000 rural customers.

Continued on page 38