Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program
In 2023, SECO Energy applied for a significant funding opportunity offered through the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development office (USDA-RD) called the Empowering Rural America program or “New ERA.” Through the New ERA Program, we were selected for $110M in funding through a combination of Rural Utility Service (RUS) low interest loans (75%) and federal grants (25%) for:
- The construction and interconnection of three (3) microgrids, including approximately 6.6 MW of solar, 24 MW of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and 35 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations (Project One-Pagers Coming Soon!)
- The conversion of all streetlights in the SECO Energy service territory from high-pressure sodium (HPS) to LED (Project One-Pager Coming Soon!)
Together, the projects’ purpose and need are to reduce costs, improve system reliability and increase generation diversity within our service territory. The BESS and solar microgrids will provide overall system support for outage response, improve reliability and other dispatching functions. SECO Energy members, our fleet vehicles, and employees will benefit from EV charging stations. Finally, the conversion of streetlights from HPS to LED will aid SECO Energy’s effort to manage wholesale power costs, comply with local ordinances, and help with the transition from high-pressure sodium fixtures that are no longer manufactured.
New ERA Community Benefit Plan
The Portfolio of Actions listed above creates intrinsic cost-saving benefits to the communities we serve. SECO Energy’s Community Benefit Plan (CBP) will extend these benefits to the many communities we interact with beyond the production and consumption of power and will also provide community benefits beyond the project scope. Improving workforce development, educational assistance opportunities, supporting local farmers and agricultural organizations are all included in SECO’s CBP. A detailed account of benefits related to our New ERA project, including the Community Benefits Plan and USDA Community Benefits Plan Roadmap and Process Checklist will be available soon.
Community Engagement
We are committed to collaborating with local organizations to implement stronger, more resilient infrastructure for our community by developing a working group focused on Workforce Development and Educational Assistance, as mentioned below:
- Workforce Development and Educational Assistance Committee – Identify workforce gaps and collaborate with local community partners to facilitate energy sector workforce development through apprenticeship programs, job fairs, recruitment drives, and educational assistance opportunities
Feedback and Updates
SECO Energy’s focus is to engage with the communities we serve and seek feedback from members and communities throughout the life of the projects. To provide feedback regarding the Community Benefits Plan or to receive updates regarding the progress of the New ERA projects, please email Grants@SECOEnergy.com.
SECO Energy will continue to post updated New ERA information and community involvement opportunities to this page as additional information becomes available.