USDA Rural Development State Director Patty Clark announced that USDA is awarding grants that will help nine rural Kansas businesses reduce energy usage and costs in their operations. The funding is for energy efficiency improvements and/or renewable energy systems.
“USDA can assist rural Kansas businesses and ag producers looking to reduce their energy costs, by providing grants, loans and loan guarantees to make the upfront cost of making the transition to a more energy-efficient business more manageable,” Clark said. “This funding will help implement energy-saving measures, and can improve the bottom line for the businesses.”
Through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), USDA is providing $781,458 in grants for nine projects throughout Kansas. Eligible agricultural producers and rural small businesses may use REAP funds to make energy efficiency improvements or install renewable energy systems including solar, wind, renewable biomass (including anaerobic digesters), and geothermal.
USDA REAP Projects Funded in Kansas:
- Bank of Hays
Hays, KS
$37,434 Grant
Funds will be used to install a 45.39 photovoltaic solar array on the bank’s roof.
- East Kansas Agri-Energy LLC
Garnett, KS
$66,200 Grant
Funds will be used to make LED lighting upgrades to an existing ethanol plant.
- Historic Breckenridge, LLC
Emporia, KS
$250,000 Grant
Funds will be used to make HVAC upgrades to a historic school building that is being converted to a hotel and convention center.
- The Flesh Company
Parsons, KS
$50,000 Grant
Funds will be used to make HVAC upgrades, as well as lighting and compressor upgrades to a rural forms printer business.
- The Monarch Cement Company
Humboldt, KS
$248,800 Grant
Funds will be used to make HVAC upgrades, as well as combustion control and lighting upgrades.
- Willards, Inc.
Osawatomie, KS
$65,000 Grant
Funds will be used for refrigeration and lighting upgrades to a rural grocery store.
- Wooden, Inc.
Colby, KS
$9,687 Grant
Funds will be used to replace existing high intensity discharge lamps at a local business with LED light fixtures.
- WWS, Inc.
Colby, KS
$5,768 Grant
Funds will be used to replace existing high intensity discharge lamps at a local business with LED light fixtures.
- WWWW, Inc
Colby, KS
$48,569 Grant
Funds will be used to replace existing high intensity discharge lamps at a local business with LED light fixtures.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that nationwide, USDA is providing $102 million in loan guarantees and $71 million in grants for 1,114 projects financed through the REAP Program. These projects are expected to generate and/or save 906 million kWh of energy – enough to power more than 83,675 homes for a year and cut carbon pollution by an estimated 455,000 metric tons. That is the equivalent of taking more than 131,500 cars off the road for a year.
Congress created the REAP program in the 2002 Farm Bill. Because of the success of the program, Congress reauthorized it in the 2014 Farm Bill with guaranteed funding of at least $50 million annually for the duration of the five-year bill. The 2014 Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past seven years while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers.
In addition to the grants announced today, USDA is reminding eligible applicants that the department is accepting applications for future REAP funding. For information on how to apply for REAP funding and upcoming deadlines, contact a USDA Rural Development Business Program specialist in Kansas:
• Doug Bruggeman, Hays Office, 785-628-3081, Ext. 1435, doug.bruggeman@ks.usda.gov
• Katie Casper, Iola Office, 620-365-2901, Ext. 1427, katie.casper@ks.usda.gov
• David Kramer, Topeka Office, 785-271-2700, Ext. 2736, david.kramer@ks.usda.gov
• Travis Snider, Newton Office, 316-283-0370, Ext. 1439, travis.snider@ks.usda.gov