How this Affects Kansas Farmers

A $7.3 billion federal program to boost clean energy in rural America will fund such efforts as wind, solar and battery storage projects in at least 13 states, including Kansas. 

The federal funds come from the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program, which is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The rural clean energy program was announced by the Biden administration in September 2024.  

In Kansas, KPP Energy has received $35 million through the program to finance the construction of seven solar facilities, with a total of 18.5 megawatts of renewable energy across rural parts of Kansas. This will provide enough locally generated electricity to power approximately 3,700 households annually. The communities near the proposed new power generation facilities include Clay Center, Ellinwood, Greensburg, Hillsboro, Marion, Wellington and Winfield. 

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, in a statement at the time the program was announced, estimated that 20% of rural Americans would benefits from the planned clean energy investments.

The federal monies will primarily fund projects through rural electric cooperatives, which serve 42 million people nationwide. Once the projects are built out, the White House estimated that the projects funded by the New ERA program will prevent more than 43 million tons of greenhouse gas pollution annually and support more than 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs. 

Besides Kansas, funding under the program is slated to support projects in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.  

Stabilize Rural Electric Supplies 

These federal investments in rural clean energy will benefit farmers in several ways. They are intended to stabilize electric supplies in rural America without imposing new regulations on agriculture. By funding more wind and solar power generation, these programs will bring some stability and reliability to a system that is straining to meet demand currently.  

The challenge of the changing climate and the impacts on farmers are clear – dwindling water supplies, droughts followed by catastrophic storms and the uncertainty of resources that are critical to farming operations. Hopefully, the clean energy projects that will be funded by the New ERA can potentially prevent or slow down further deterioration of resources. 

Finally, the nation is investing in something that is not imposing new regulations on farmers but actually investing in the general public and infrastructure. 

If you would like to know more about federal investments in rural clean energy, contact an Adams Brown agriculture advisor.