LIHU‘E — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) is one of the first five cooperative utilities in the nation selected to move forward in the USDA awards process for the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program.
KIUC President and CEO David Bissell was among the audience at the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s PowerXchange annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, when Vilsack made the announcement on Wednesday. The five applications total $139 million to serve vulnerable, disadvantaged, and Tribal communities in Arizona, Colorado, Hawai‘i, and Nebraska, according to a KIUC news release.
“Rural electric cooperatives are the backbone of America’s power delivery, and the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to helping them create a path toward a cleaner, more sustainable future that creates jobs and lasting economic prosperity for people everywhere,” Vilsack said.
KIUC requested $24.4 million in PACE funding to expand solar energy production by installing battery energy storage systems, at solar facilities in Anahola, Koloa and Port Allen.
“The PACE funding will help us further reduce reliance on fossil fuels during peak evening hours, improve grid reliability and resiliency, and help us move closer to our goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2044,” Bissell said.
Funding for the PACE program is made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The historic legislative package is the nation’s largest-ever investment in rural electric energy since the New Deal.
KIUC made its application for PACE funds following the USDA announcement in May 2023 that $1 billion would be available to fund new clean energy projects and energy storage in rural America. In making the announcement on Wednesday, Vilsack also announced $2.2 billion in funding awarded to 39 projects to help ensure more than 2 million people in rural areas have access to reliable electricity.
The USDA expects to continue making PACE awards in the coming months.
