RALEIGH, North Carolina--Nov. 14, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development North Carolina State Director Reginald Speight announced USDA is funding new projects across the state to lower costs, expand access to clean energy and strengthen farms and small businesses in the Tar Heel State today.
USDA is making the investments through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a program that has seen record demand in response to historic funding provided by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.
“The Biden-Harris Administration and USDA are ensuring farmers, small business owners and rural communities have the resources they need for the future,” Speight said. “These investments will help rural communities lead our country toward an economy that benefits working people everywhere with lower costs and clean energy jobs.”
REAP enables agricultural producers and rural small business owners to expand their use of wind, solar, geothermal and small hydropower energy and make energy efficiency improvements. These innovations help them increase their income, grow their businesses and address climate change while lowering energy costs for American families.
Here are examples of the awards being announced today:
- In Cherokee County, Aegis Power Systems Inc. will use a $117 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install a 21.84-kilowatt solar array with battery storage. This rural small business will realize $3.9 thousand per year in savings, and will replace 27,891 kilowatt hours per year, which is enough electricity to power two homes.
- In Cherokee County, Eller and Owens Furniture Inc. will use a $295 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install a 245.4-kilowatt solar array. This rural small business will realize $38.8 thousand per year in savings, and will replace 323,331 kilowatt hours per year, which is enough electricity to power 29 homes.
- In Granville County, Dill Air Controls Products LLC will use a $881 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install a 1.394-megawatt solar array. This rural small business will realize $139 thousand per year in savings and will replace 1.3 million kilowatt hours per year, which is enough electricity to power 128 homes.
- In Harnett County, Andrew Burgess Poultry will use a $46 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install heaters, service doors, and tunnel doors. This poultry farm will realize $6.9 thousand per year in savings and save 5.3 thousand gallons of propane per year.
- In Iredell County, Galliher Dairy will use a $98 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install LED lighting and efficient fans. This project will realize $18 thousnd per year in savings and will save 308 thousand kilowatt hours per year, which is enough electricity to power 28 homes.
- In Swain County, Cherokee Boys Club Inc. will use a $229 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install a 132.4-kilowatt solar array with battery storage component. The Cherokee Boys Club Inc., a self-supporting Tribal Entity of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, will realize $15 thousand per year in savings, and will generate 178 thousand kilowatt hours per year, which is enough electricity to power 16 homes.
- In Vance County, Kilian Engineering Inc. will use a $42 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install a 29.1-kilowatt solar array. This small rural business will realize $2 thousand per year in savings, and will replace 36 thousand kilowatt hours per year, which is enough electricity to power three homes.
- In Watauga County, Mountain Beverage LLC. will use a $54 thousand USDA REAP Grant to purchase and install a 41.3-kilowatt solar array. This rural small business will realize $5 thousand per year in savings, and will replace 51,633 kWh per year, which is enough electricity to power four homes.
Nationwide, USDA is investing more than $256 million in loans and grants that will support more than 1,100 clean energy projects in 40 states.
Most of the projects being announced today are funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest-ever investment in combating the climate crisis.
Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has invested more than $2.7 billion through REAP in 9,901 renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. Almost 7,000 of these projects were funded by over $1 billion provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The investments announced today will benefit farmers, entrepreneurs and others in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
This is the final REAP funding availability from the Inflation Reduction Act. USDA is accepting applications in this first round through two windows. The deadlines to apply are Dec. 31, 2024, and March 31, 2025. For additional information, contact a local energy coordinator.
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas.
REAP is a part of the President’s Justice40 Initiative which sets a goal that 40 percent of the benefits from certain federal investments go to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
USDA Rural Development supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery Subscriber Page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America.
To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
###