Biden promotes clean energy funds in visit to western Wisconsin

President Joe Biden celebrated his administration’s infrastructure investments during a visit to western Wisconsin Thursday.

The president spoke to supporters in Westby to announce new clean energy funding for rural electric cooperatives. 

Dairyland Power Cooperative, which serves western Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois, is one of 16 cooperatives receiving a total of $7.3 billion for renewable energy projects through the Empowering Rural America, or New ERA, program. 

The funding, which comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, is expected to lower energy costs for approximately 5 million households, or around 20 percent of the country’s rural residents.

Speaking in front of a solar array at one of Dairyland’s member cooperatives, Biden said the new funding is the largest investment in rural electric cooperatives since the 1936 New Deal legislation that created them. He said the nonprofit utilities have struggled to add renewable energy projects.

“They don’t have the same resources that private utility companies have to modernize their energy infrastructure,” Biden said, adding that changes in the Inflation Reduction Act have also allowed co-ops to access tax breaks for clean energy projects for the first time.

Biden reflected on his last visit to the Driftless Area in 2021 to promote what would become the bipartisan infrastructure law in La Crosse. He said the legislation was designed to invest in rural America and position the country to “win the economic competition of the 21st century.”

“I’m back again today to begin a series of trips and events showing the progress we’ve made together by our ‘Investing in America’ agenda, an agenda that has come to fruition over the last decade,” Biden said.

Biden’s visit was his first trip to Wisconsin since dropping out of the presidential race. He last visited Madison in July. His return to the state comes as part of a series of visits to swing states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan, to tout his administration’s accomplishments ahead of the November election.

Dairyland Power will receive a $471 million grant and $102 million loan through the New ERA program.

The project will cost a total of $2.1 billion and will develop 1,080 megawatts of renewable energy, reducing the cooperative’s greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 3 million tons annually.

Brent Ridge, Dairyland’s president and CEO, said the new funding will be “transformative” for the cooperative and its customers. The new solar and wind power is expected to lower energy costs for Dairyland customers by 42 percent over the next 10 years. 

“It also allows us to refinance our existing debt portfolio, which is exactly like someone refinancing their home mortgage,” Ridge said. “That’s going to be immediate savings to our customers beginning next year.” 

Dairyland has faced scrutiny for its plans to build a nearly $1 billion natural gas plant in Superior. The Nemadji Trail Energy Center would produce roughly the same amount of pollution each year that would be reduced by the renewable projects announced Thursday. 

Tribal and local leaders along with environmental advocates have said the plant is at odds with the Biden administration’s efforts to speed up the transition to clean energy.

Ridge said the new solar and wind projects will allow the cooperative to  “assess” their energy portfolio and move toward less reliance on fossil fuels.

Dairyland will also develop a Farmer Benefit Plan, laying out terms for farmers who host renewable energy projects on their land, as well as a separate plan to outline apprenticeship and workforce training opportunities.

Gov. Tony Evers joined Biden and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack at Thursday’s event. Evers praised the president for his administration’s investments in roads and broadband infrastructure.

“President Biden and Vice President Harris believe as I do — I’m sure that you agree with this — that we don’t have to choose between mitigating climate change and protecting our environment or creating good paying jobs and creating a strong economy,” Evers said. “We can and we have to do both.”

Ahead of Biden’s visit, the Republican Party of Wisconsin issued a statement criticizing the president for his immigration policy and what they described as “runaway inflation” during his administration.

“Joe Biden’s return to Wisconsin is the comeback tour that no one wanted,” GOP chair Brian Schimming said in a statement.