U.S. government to provide $1 billion for rural renewable energy

By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) – Rural small businesses and farmers will be eligible to apply for $1 billion in grants to invest in clean energy beginning Saturday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House announced on Friday.

The money, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, will be distributed through the USDA‘s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and is meant to further the Biden administration’s efforts to cut climate-harming emissions across the American economy.

“Through this administration we are taking an approach that tries to expand the affordability of clean energy to folks living in every zip code,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said on a call with reporters.

The grant money can be used to install renewable energy systems, like solar panels, or to make energy-efficient improvements, the USDA said.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Mark Porter)