On January 10, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development (USDA RD) announced that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) will host a series of roundtables with stakeholders to solicit input on the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) across rural America. Thirteen roundtable sessions will take place from January 17-26, where local and regional stakeholders will have the opportunity to share their insights and recommendations with federal policymakers as they begin to implement the IRA.  

The IRA makes climate and energy investments in rural communities, including through Rural Renewable Energy Loans, Rural Energy for America Grants and making certain tax incentives available to rural electric cooperatives under a direct pay option.   

Interested county officials can register for the RUS roundtables here. The dates and corresponding topics are listed below:

1. January 17 – 10 a.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at electrical generation & transmission (G&T) entities in RUS Region 1 which includes entities in the following states: Ala., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va.
2. January 17– 4 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at rural mayors, county officials and Other Sub-national Leaders
3. January 18 – 10 a.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at labor stakeholders
4. January 18 – 3 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at environmental stakeholders
5. January 19 – 3 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at clean energy developers
6. January 20 – 11 a.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at distribution cooperatives in RUS Region 1 which includes entities in the following states: Ala., Conn., Del., Fla., Ga., Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Pa., R.I., S.C., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va.
7. January 20 – 3:30 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at electrical G&T entities in RUS Region 2 which includes entities in the following states: Ark., Ala, Hawaii, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kan., La., Mich., Miss., Mo., Neb., Okla., Texas
8. January 23 – 11 a.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at engineering firms with expertise in rural energy and rural energy Systems
9. January 23 – 3 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at electrical G&T entities in RUS Region 3 which includes entities in the following states: Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Minn., Mont., Nev., N.M., N.D., Ore., S.D., Utah, Wash., Wis., Wyo. and all territories
10. January 24 – 11 a.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at distribution cooperatives in RUS Region 2 which includes entities in the following states: Ark., Ala, Hawaii, Ill., Ind., Iowa, Kan., La., Mich., Miss., Mo., Neb., Okla., Texas
11. January 24 – 3 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at promoting renewable energy development in tribal communities through tribes, tribal utilities and tribal organizations and entities
12. January 25 – 1 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at equity stakeholders
13. January 26 – 4 p.m. EST – USDA Rural Development, RUS IRA Roundtable aimed at distribution cooperatives in RUS Region 3 which includes entities in the following states: Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Minn., Mont., Nev., N.M., N.D., Ore., S.D., Utah, Wash., Wis., Wyo. and all territories