July 11, 2012
Harkin Announces Electric Guaranteed Loans for Iowa
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that $59,380,000 will be coming to Iowa aimed at rural electric development projects. The funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service Development Program. Harkin is a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the Appropriations subcommittee that funds rural development initiatives.
“This funding will help to allow the cooperatives to provide electricity at decent rates and ensure that existing power lines continue to function safely and efficiently,” said Harkin. “These loan guarantees allow Iowans to have improved reliability of the electricity they need, and I look forward to the improvements they will generate.”
The details of the funding are as follows:
Corn Belt Power Cooperative – $55,788,000 to finance generation system improvements for the Corn Belt Cooperative to fund a small partial ownership in the Walter Scott Jr. Energy Center Unit 4 electric plant in Council Bluffs as well as $22,838,826 in environmental improvement projects. The improvements will help serve residents and businesses in Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, Grundy, Tama, Calhoun, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw, Emmet, Floyd, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Story, Webster, Wright, Buena Vista, Carroll, Clay, Crawford, Dickinson, Guthrie, and Sac counties.
Maquoketa Valley Rural Electric Cooperative – $3,250,000 to serve consumers by constructing and improving 252 miles of distribution line, and includes $220,000 in smart grid projects. The improvements will serve residents and businesses in Buchanan, Clayton, Clinton, Deleware, Dubuque, Jackson, Jones, Cedar, and Linn counties.