RALEIGH, North Carolina, Sept. 9, 2021 – U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Department is investing $53 million to build or improve renewable energy infrastructure and to help rural communities, agricultural producers and businesses lower energy costs in North Carolina.
“USDA continues to prioritize climate-smart infrastructure to help rural America build back better, stronger and more equitably than ever before,” Vilsack said. “We recognize that lowering energy costs for small businesses and agricultural producers helps to expand economic development and employment opportunities for people in America’s rural towns and communities. The investments we are announcing today demonstrate how the Biden-Harris Administration has put rural communities at the heart of climate action and climate-smart solutions.”
USDA is financing these investments through the Rural Energy for America Program. This program provides funding to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements.
For example:
• Anne C. Rose Insurance will use a $5 thousand grant to purchase and install a 6-kilowatt solar array. This project will generate eight thousand kilowatt hours per year and realize $1 of saving per year.
• Brinkley Farms Inc. will use a $12 thousand grant to provide funds to replace their irrigation system. This will increase the efficiency of the business operation overall and will result in dramatic energy savings and cost reductions. This project is estimated to reduce energy annual consumption by 86 percent and save the business $8 thousand a year.
• Fading D. Farm LLC. will use a $13 thousand grant to purchase and install a 29-kilowatt solar array. This project will generate 33 thousand kilowatt hours per year.
• Grissom Solar LLC will use a $7.5 million loan to purchase and install a 7-megawatt solar system. The system is estimated to produce 11 million kilowatt hours in its first year, which is enough electricity to power one thousand homes.
• Highest Power Solar LLC. will use a $25 million loan to purchase and install a 68.18 MW solar system. The system is estimated to produce 116 million kilowatt hours in its first year, which is enough electricity to power 10 thousand homes. They are also using a $14 million loan to build a 68-megawatt ground solar plus storage array in Louisburg.
• Motion Maker LLC. will use a $11 thousand grant purchase and install a 14-kilowatt solar array. This project will generate 20 thousand kilowatt hours annually and realize $2 thousand of saving per year.
• Platt Architecture P.A. will use a $8 thousand grant to purchase and install a 13-kilowatt solar array. This project will generate 15 thousand kilowatt hours annually and $1 thousand in savings per year.
• Ross Dairy Inc. will use a $15 thousand grant to purchase and install a milk chiller system. This project will save $5 thousand per and produce 69 thousand kilowatt hours per year.
• Triple S. Farms of Salisbury N.C. Inc. will use a $13 thousand grant to purchase and install a grain dryer. This project will produce 21 thousand kilowatt hours annually and save $4 thousand per year.
• Whiskey Solar LLC. will use a $6 million loan to purchase and install a 6-megawatt solar system. The system is estimated to produce 12 million kilowatt hours in its first year, which is enough electricity to power one thousand homes.
“USDA Rural Development is in a unique position to help rural communities, agricultural producers and businesses lower energy costs,” said USDA Rural Development Acting State Director Mel Ellis. “These investments support the local economy by making rural communities attractive, economically viable and safe places to live and work. This helps create and save jobs by attracting and retaining employers and workers.”
Nationwide USDA is financing $129 million of these investments through REAP. These climate-smart investments will conserve and generate more than 379 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) in rural America, which equates to enough electricity to power 35,677 homes per year.
USDA is financing $335 million of these investments through the Electric Loan Program. The loans will help build or improve 1,432 miles of line to strengthen reliability in rural areas. The loans include $102 million for investments in smart grid technology, which uses digital communications to detect and react to local changes in electricity usage.
The department is announcing investments today in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming and Puerto Rico.
To learn more about these and other resources for rural areas, contact a USDA Rural Development state office.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance 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. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov. If you’d like to subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. In 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.
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