By Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled $7.3 billion investment in clean and affordable electricity for American rural communities as the president looks to help his Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris to win voters in rural battleground states.

President Biden’s announcement, made in Wisconsin, pledges the multi-billion investment which will be funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

The investment announced today is the largest investment in rural electrification since the New Deal and is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the White House said.

The President is set to announce the first round of rural electric cooperatives selected and the first award for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.

On Thursday, USDA announced that 16 rural electric cooperatives are being selected to receive up to $7.3 billion in clean energy financing that will deliver clean, more affordable, and more resilient electricity to approximately 5 million rural co-op members representing 20% of rural households, farms, businesses, and schools. These 16 cooperatives will benefit rural residents across 23 states, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Under the New ERA program, electric cooperatives will build or purchase over 10 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson commented on the new program that “The New ERA program showcases what is possible when the government prioritizes voluntary, flexible decision-making and allows electric co-ops to take a tailored approach to respond to local needs.”

The program “is a transformative opportunity for electric cooperatives,” Matheson added.

The announcement of funding for rural cooperatives could boost Harris’s chances to snatch battleground states from Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has been criticizing Democrats for the higher energy costs Americans have faced in the past two years.