On Thursday, President Biden will announce $7.3 billion in “clean energy” funding to boost electricity generation for rural residents in nearly two dozen states.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will distribute the money to 16 rural electric cooperatives serving 5 million entities, including households, businesses and schools.
“The impact of this investment cannot be overstated,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who will join Mr. Biden in Westby, Wisconsin, for an event on the announcement.
The funding comes from Mr. Biden’s tax and climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and is meant to boost energy production from wind, solar, hydro and other sources.
The money will also fund upgrades to transmission grids and substations, as well as the types of software that could help grids operate and reduce costs.
“This funding will lower electricity bills for rural families and businesses, who for too long have faced higher energy costs than the rest of the country due to challenges in providing electricity to rural and remote areas,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
The newly funded projects will affect residents of 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, according to the White House.
Mr. Biden is promoting the money as part of an “Invest in America” tour.
The president says his efforts to grow the economy “from the bottom up and the center” have worked for Americans, despite complaints about high costs and recent turmoil in the stock market.
Additionally, the tour is a tacit way to bolster Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential bid against former President Donald Trump.
Ms. Harris is presenting herself as a change-oriented candidate while trying to tie herself to Mr. Biden’s economic accomplishments, which is risky.
Voters have given Mr. Biden poor marks for handling the economy for most of his presidency. His economic approval rating has hovered around 30% since 2021, while inflation has soared.
Ms. Harris’s dual message of taking credit for some of Mr. Biden’s economic policies while distancing herself from others is reflected in the polls.
An ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released last month found that voters are more likely to trust Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee, to handle the economy than they are to trust Ms. Harris. The poll also found that the public overwhelmingly believes Ms. Harris has had limited influence on Mr. Biden’s economic policies, 64 percent to 33 percent.
• Jeff Mordock contributed to this report.
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