Senator Murray: “For far too long, rural and Tribal communities were left behind in the transition to a clean energy economy. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are changing that.”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced a $5 million grant from the Department of Energy (DOE) for Ferry and Okanogan Counties to expand access to reliable and affordable clean energy in rural and remote communities, and lower energy costs for local households. The funding comes from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Senator Murray helped pass and will help to extend 30 miles of underground, electric distribution lines into a rural, unserved area in Northeast Washington. Today’s grant is a part of a $78 million announcement by the Biden administration to develop and deploy clean energy solutions across the country.
“For far too long, rural and Tribal communities were left behind in the transition to a clean energy economy. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are changing that,” said Senator Murray. “This announcement is going to help ensure that the people who call Ferry and Okanogan County home can rely on affordable, clean energy to power their homes and businesses. Not only is this going to cut pollution, but it will lower energy costs in a major way for hundreds of households in Northeast Washington state.”
The project includes upgrades to the Strassburg Substation which will increase its service capacity and resilience. Underground power lines are built to last, virtually eliminating outages due to infrastructure damage from heavy winds, fallen limbs, and wildfires. When complete, an estimated 135-190 unserved homes will have access to electrical service for the first time. All communities served by the project are classified as disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool.
Senator Murray was a leader in passing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act—which collectively made historic investments to upgrade our nation’s infrastructure, turbocharge the clean energy economy, and ensure our country stays on the cutting-edge of clean energy technology. As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Murray secured hundreds of millions for clean energy in this year’s spending package, signed into law on March 9th, for DOE to help secure energy grids, invest into clean energy technology and capacity, improve energy sector resilience, and more. Earlier this year, Murray announced up to $32 million in funding for the Yakama Nation to boost their clean energy supply and grid resiliency. And last month, Murray announced $6 million for Washington State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to improve electrical grid infrastructure planning.