A large crowd welcomes President Joe Biden during the DNC
A large crowd welcomes President Joe Biden during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
President Joe Biden is traveling to western Wisconsin today to highlight his administration’s investments in manufacturing and infrastructure — his first visit to the state since dropping out of the presidential race.
Biden is expected to announce more than $7.3 billion in financing for electrification of rural America — the largest such investment since the 1930s.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is providing live coverage of the event.
Watch live remarks from Biden
Dairyland exec says project will reduce carbon emissions by 70%
Dairyland Power Cooperative estimates that electric rates for their members will be 42% lower over 10 years than they would have been without the New ERA funding.
“The reality is the savings to our members will be more than $130 million,” said Brent Ridge, president and CEO of Dairyland.
The project will deliver power to about 240,000 homes and reduce carbon emissions by 70%, according to the cooperative. The total investment, offset by the grant, will be around $3 billion.
Construction of the solar and wind sites could begin in the next six months, although locations have not been finalized, according to Ridge.
“They may pivot but will be located in our four states,” he said.
— Rick Barrett
Ag secretary touts grant for Dairyland Power Cooperative
Dairyland Power Cooperative is in line for $471 million of the overall $7.3 billion program Biden is announcing in Westby.
His secretary of agriculture, Tom Vilsack, said the money is a sign of the President’s investment in Wisconsin.
“This is going to establish an opportunity for this particular cooperative, to purchase, to finance eight power purchase agreements,” he said. “This is an opportunity over the next 10 years to lower the cost of electricity for the customers of the Dairyland Cooperative by nearly 42%.”
The money will greatly help Wisconsin’s more rural areas, as well as the farmers who often need the power for their farms, Vilsack said.
— Laura Schulte
Solar panels will serve as the backdrop for Biden’s announcement on rural electrification
President Joe Biden’s announcement on rural electification will come against a backdrop of solar panels at the speaking site in Westby.
Staff were working to clear the outdoor stage of the rain that fell earlier this morning, pooling in muddy puddles in the outdoor space the president will speak from.
— Laura Schulte
What will Biden be announcing in Wisconsin?
President Joe Biden is expected on Thursday to announce more than $7.3 billion in financing for electrification of rural America in Wisconsin and 22 other states.
The funding comes from the New ERA program of the Inflation Reduction Act, which the White House said represents the largest financial boost to rural electrification since President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Rural Electrification Act into law in 1936.
On Tuesday, Biden touted the success of his administration’s “Investing in America” infrastructure platform during the first of several planned talks on the topic Tuesday afternoon. The president said his energy platform set several records, including 16 million new jobs, small business growth and gains in the stock market.
Read more about the electrification efforts Biden will discuss Thursday.
Where in Wisconsin is Biden appearing Thursday?
Though Milwaukee has become a political epicenter this summer, a much smaller Wisconsin city will take the national spotlight this week for President Joe Biden’s first visit to the state since dropping out of the presidential race.
The president will visit Westby on Thursday, a city in southwestern Wisconsin with a population of just over 2,300 people. The event comes exactly two months since his last visit to Wisconsin, an early July campaign rally in the Madison area.
Located in Vernon County, Westby is close to the western border of Wisconsin.
The city is also about 30 miles from La Crosse, where former president Donald Trump hosted a campaign town hall last week.