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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in the Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 82 Stories
Jim Pitreau stands at the base of Green Thumb Farms' new grain dryer.

High Efficiency Grain Dryer Proves Transformational for Green Thumb Farms

Soil Health, Bottom Line, and Maine Livestock All Benefit from REAP GrantGreen Thumb Farms is a familiar name to many Mainers. The farm’s “Cold River Gold” potatoes are found in abundance in New England supermarkets each fall and winter.  The family-owned farm in the… [Read More]
Maine
BusinessEnergyFood SupplyInflation Reduction ActKnow Your FarmerREAP
Man standing in front of two large water heaters.

Energy Grant Helps Keep Dinner Plates Fresh and Full Year-Round

The Chef's Garden in Huron, Ohio, is a year-round 400-acre production farm that grows more than 800 varieties of fruits, vegetables, and microgreens. USDA Photo.  The Chef’s Garden, Inc., is a year-round 400-acre production farm in… [Read More]
Ohio
EnergyREAP
Aerial view of Bluff Dwellings rooftops with red cliffs in background.

Bringing Renewable Energy to Southeast Utah Using the Desert's Greatest Resource

The remote desert of Southeastern Utah brings a landscape like no other. While towering red rock mesas and sandstone cliffs provide amazing views you see very few people, and an abundance of sunshine. Southeast Utah’s San Juan County is the largest county in Utah, covering over… [Read More]
Utah
Clean EnergyCOREREAPRenewable EnergyRural DevelopmentSolar EnergyUnderserved
A solar array on the top of a roof with fall colors in the trees behind

A new megawatt solar array is saving energy and decreasing production costs on the rooftop at Kolbe in Wausau

After 78 years, Kolbe Windows & Doors in Wausau is still embracing change and finding new ways to save energy and operating expenses. A new megawatt solar array is saving energy while cutting costs at Kolbe Windows & Doors, which is a millwork factory and showroom… [Read More]
Wisconsin
REAP
A man stands against a porch railing with a long wood shed behind him. The roof of the shed is covered with solar panels. There is fall foliage in the background.

Marsh River Co-op Finds "the Easiest Way to Reduce Overhead Costs"

The Waldo County town of Brooks is located about half an hour from Belfast on the Penobscot Bay. It is a rural community with a population of about 1000 people. The store is located right downtown in a property that was recently donated… [Read More]
Maine
BusinessClean EnergyCooperativesEnergyFood SupplyInflation Reduction ActLocal FoodsLocal ProduceREAPSmall BusinessSolar Energy
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Energy Grant Adds Flavor to America’s Salads and Sandwiches

Mucci Farms is a large greenhouse with 75 acres of growing space not far from the shores of Lake Erie in Huron, Ohio, and provides the ideal growing environment for the nearly 12 million units of tomatoes and cucumbers it produces annually. “We are farmers at heart… [Read More]
Ohio
EnergyREAP
Man standing in front of Desert Aire Hotel sign

REAP Grant Helps Hotel Go 100 Percent Solar

While many companies build new hotels for efficiency, the Classic Desert Aire Hotel in Alamogordo, New Mexico, built in the 1950s, was not. Despite that, the hotel’s large roof recently offered an unexpected benefit for sustainability.“This property was built almost for solar —… [Read More]
New Mexico
Clean EnergyGrantsInflation Reduction ActREAPSolar Energy
A woman stands in a farmers' market booth with a Precipice Coffee banner behind her and coffee displayed on the table in front of her. The tent is green and encloses the scene.

Little Roaster Avoids a Big Stink with Clean Technology

Precipice Coffee is roasted in the company's small Ellsworth location using a zero-emissions Bellwether Coffee roaster, pictured here.  Early in the process of establishing their new coffee business, Maggie Iannuzzi and her husband… [Read More]
Maine
BusinessClean EnergyElectricEntrepreneurInflation Reduction ActREAPTechnology
Man standing next to world's largest pistachio

Sun Powers Production Next to World’s Largest Pistachio

When Thomas McGinn and his son, Tim, moved from Southern California to the desert of New Mexico in 1980, Thomas was looking for a change. He wanted to get back into farming and get out of his job working in food production for big factories.He purchased land for a farm and built… [Read More]
New Mexico
Clean EnergyREAPSmall BusinessSolar Energy
Owner Gary and manager Eric of Replenova Farm pose inside the farm store, with shelves of local foods arrayed behind them.

Solar Energy Helps New Farm on the Road to Financial Sustainability

Retired biochemist Gary Goodrich founded Replenova Farm in 2015, after decades spent growing healthy produce as a pastime. He had sold his Portland biotech company and was ready to dive into organic farming. In 2019 he purchased land and relocated the farm to Durham, Maine,… [Read More]
Maine
Clean EnergyLocal FoodsREAPSolar Energy

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