$485 Million Renewable Energy Grant to Benefit Rural Residents in the Southwest

BENSON, AZ – Electric consumers across the desert Southwest stand to benefit from significant investments in renewable energy following an award of more than $485 million to an Arizona electric cooperative. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced this week a $485 million award to Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) through its New Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program. This funding will be allocated to invest in large-scale solar and battery energy storage system projects that benefit rural cooperatives and public power utilities serving communities across Arizona and parts of California, Nevada, and New Mexico. Additionally, the funds will be used to retire AEPCO’s remaining coal assets by 2028.

Patrick Ledger, AEPCO Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, highlighted the importance of this funding in transitioning from older, less efficient electric generating assets that started operations in the 1960s and 1970s. “The New ERA program will enable us to make major new investments in renewable power, which will modernize our fleet, substantially lower emissions, and help keep costs stable for years to come.”

AEPCO is a not-for-profit generation and transmission cooperative that provides wholesale power and energy services to utilities in Arizona, California, Nevada, and New Mexico. Projects supported by New ERA program funding will enable its cooperative and public power members to diversify their power portfolios through broad participation in large, competitively-priced renewable energy projects. In a region abundant with sunshine year-round, the new resources will encompass 730 megawatts of solar and 2,910 megawatt-hours of battery energy storage. The company expects these new renewable resources to help AEPCO reduce emissions by approximately 70 percent.

“These new projects will produce a tremendous amount of energy, and the battery storage will enable us to move that energy to cover evening peaks or to dispatch it according to each member’s individual needs,” said Ledger.

The benefits will flow directly to rural communities throughout the desert Southwest, which are often economically disadvantaged and have not had an opportunity to participate in large-scale lower-price renewable projects. The New ERA program is instrumental in bringing smaller not-for-profit cooperatives and public power utilities together, making low-cost renewable power accessible to those unable to develop these resources independently.

About Arizona Electric Power Cooperative, Inc.

AEPCO is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative and is part of the Arizona G&T Cooperatives family of cooperatives. Two cooperatives providing power generation operate under the AzGT banner, including Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) and Sierra Southwest Cooperative Services (Sierra). For more information about AEPCO and its future projects, please visit www.azgt.coop.

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