U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced Jan. 22 a $207 million investment in domestic fertilizer, as well as renewable energy projects, Reuters reports. 

This comes as the Biden administration looks to booting supplier competition for U.S. farmers and help lowering energy costs.

Seven rural clean energy projects across seven states will be awarded $50 million to be split among them through the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP), which was created to help expand U.S. fertilizer production after the increased costs and shortages brought by the Russia-Ukraine war.

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"The investments announced will expand access to renewable energy infrastructure and increase domestic fertilizer production, all while creating good-paying jobs and saving people money on their energy costs that they can then invest back into their businesses and communities," Vilsack said in a statement.

The projects include the building of a fully automated fertilizer facility in Nebraska, as well as the installation of a solar array in Colorado that will help a wastewater treatment facility, a solar photovoltaic system on a soybean farm in Pennsylvania, and the installation of an energy-efficient refrigeration system at a meat company that makes beef jerky in South Dakota.