Minnesota is one of 11 states that will benefit from a recently announced $598 million USDA rural electric loan package. The following entities in the state are receiving funding:

Minnesota Valley Cooperative Light & Power.  A total of $22,817,000 will connect 132 consumers, and build and improve 137 miles of line. This loan includes $1,314,000 in smart grid technologies. Minnesota Valley, headquartered in Montevideo, serves 5,282 customers and over 3,263 miles of line in eight counties in southwestern Minnesota.

Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric. A total of $19,889,000 will connect 141 consumers, and build and improve 71 miles of line. This loan includes $2,546,460 in smart grid technologies. Steele-Waseca, headquartered in Owatonna, serves more than 11,000 customers through 2,022 miles of line in nine counties in southeast Minnesota.

Minnkota Power Cooperative. A total of  $80,560,000 will finance generation and transmission system improvement projects. Minnkota Power is a generation and transmission cooperative headquartered in Grand Forks, N.D. It provides wholesale electric power to 11 distribution cooperatives serving nearly 137,000 consumer accounts in a 34,500-square-mile area in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.

Overall, USDA is investing in Arizona, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia. Several of the loans will help expand smart grid technologies, which can be a catalyst for broadband and other telecommunications services in unserved and underserved rural areas.

USDA’s Electric Loan Program helps finance wind, solar and natural gas plants, as well as improvements to produce clean energy from coal-fired plants. Local utilities also use the loans to invest in infrastructure to deliver affordable power to millions of residential, commercial and agricultural consumers.

To learn more about electric infrastructure and other investment resources for rural areas, contact the USDA Rural Development state office.

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