Friday, Mar 9 2012 4:34PM
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that rural electric cooperative utilities in eight states will receive financial assistance to install smart grid technologies and make improvements to generation and transmission facilities.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced that rural electric cooperative utilities in eight states will receive financial assistance to install smart grid technologies and make improvements to generation and transmission facilities.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack's goal to fund more than $250 million for Smart Grid technologies is currently already halfway fulfilled. The recent announcement puts around an additional $25 million toward the technology innovation.
The $201 million in loans will be provided by USDA Rural Development's Rural Utilities Service (RUS) and will help upgrade, expand, maintain and replace electric infrastructure throughout rural America and also fund energy conservation and renewable energy projects.
"By supporting electrical system improvements, the Obama Administration is not only improving the reliability of America's electric grid, it's creating jobs and promoting business expansion," said Vilsack. "These investments in smart grid technologies give rural electric utilities and their consumers one more tool to better manage their use of electricity, improve efficiency, increase reliability of the electric grid and lower overall costs."
For further information, check out this source:
USDA