Affordable Rural Cooperative (ARC) Energy Program

In plain English

Rural Utilities Service (Department of Agriculture) is accepting applications for this other until Nov 20, 2026 (9 days left).

Individual awards range from $100,000 to $20,000,000, the agency expects to make 30 awards and estimated total program funding is $175,000,000.

Eligibility is described in the listing text (the "Others" category).

Cost sharing or matching is required.

Built only from the fields in the Grants.gov listing. Always confirm on the official listing.

• Others (see the eligibility details in the listing)

Additional eligibility information (excerpt from the listing):

(1) Operating Electric cooperatives described in section 501(c)(12) or 1381(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 who are currently or have been in the past a RUS electric loan borrower pursuant to the RE Act;(2) Electric cooperatives serving predominantly Rural Areas; or(3) Wholly or jointly owned subsidiaries of such electric cooperatives listed in (1) and (2).For the purposes of this program, the term “predominantly rural” as used in (2) in this paragraph shall mean a service territory that must include at least 50 percent Rural Areas

Excerpt from the official synopsis on Grants.gov (shortened; read the full text on the official listing):

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is soliciting Letters of Interest (LOI) for applications under the Affordable Rural Cooperative (ARC) Program. In addition, the Agency is announcing the eligibility requirements, application process and deadlines, and the criteria that will be used by RUS to assess ARC Applications. The ARC Program is making approximately $175 million in appropriated budget authority for the cost of loan and grant funds available under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. In keeping with the statutory authority for the program, RUS will utilize the ARC funds to assist Eligible Entities to achieve future net reductions consistent with Section 22004 of the IRA through the deployment of advanced, efficient transmission infrastructure and nuclear power supply. …

Read the full listing on Grants.gov → · Agency's announcement page