Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing in hundreds of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects to support rural businesses nationwide.
Lowering energy costs helps businesses improve their bottom line and create jobs,” Vilsack said. “USDA’s investments will help rural communities and businesses remain profitable in an increasingly competitive global economy and will help ensure U.S. energy independence. This is beneficial not just to the rural businesses receiving these grants, but to the national economy as well.”
USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel said, “These investments in rural Maine businesses and agricultural producers though the installation of renewable and energy efficient systems will significantly reduce energy consumption and lower the operating costs of the businesses. I am pleased Rural Development can directly support Maine job retention and creation and economic growth in these rural communities.”
In Maine, six rural businesses and agricultural producers have been selected to receive Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants for a total of $427,000. They are:
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Maine Textiles International, LLC, in Biddeford, has been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $140,295 to purchase and replace textile dyeing equipment at the Saco River Dyehouse; the only organically certified yarn dyeing operation in the country. This new equipment will reduce annual energy consumption by approximately 1,800 MMBTU or 85%. The energy saved is enough to power 48 homes.
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Double G Farms, Inc., in Blaine, has been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $151,271 for the purchase and installation of a 219.2 kW solar PV ground-mounted system to benefit the farm. This project will realize $54,462 per year in savings, and will replace 382,461 kWh (96%) per year, or enough energy to power 35 homes.
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S. P. Real Estate, LLC, in Fort Kent, has been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $49,875 for the purchase and installation of a 58.5 kW solar PV tracker system. This project will realize $17,047 annually in savings and will replace 108,317 kWh (35%) per year- enough energy to power approximately 9 homes.
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Bruce Stedman, d/b/a Little River Flower Farm, in Buxton, has been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $42,226. Funds will be used at this organic fruit/vegetable and flower farm for the purchase and installation of a 24 kW thin-film solar panel system integrated into the structure of a new greenhouse and for two new wood pellet boilers. This project will save $8,594 and produce 173,063 kWh per year, or enough energy to power 15 homes.
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Robert Johanson d/b/a Goranson Farm, in Dresden, has been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $17,696. Funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 24.96 kW ground-mounted solar array. This project will realize $5,970 in savings and replace 46,359 kWh (100%) annually, or enough electricity to power four homes.
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KAPH, Inc., in Eliot, has been selected to receive a grant in the amount of $25,637. Funds will be used to construct a 39.75 kW roof-mounted solar array for this commercial real estate business. This project will realize $5,681 annually in savings and will produce 38,627 kWh per year, enough energy to power three homes.
USDA is investing $237 million in 423 projects through the Rural Energy for America Program. (REAP). Recipients will use the loans and grants for renewable energy systems such as biomass, geothermal, hydropower and solar. The funds also may be used to make energy efficiency improvements such as heating, ventilation and cooling systems; insulation; lighting and refrigeration.
Congress created the REAP program in the 2002 Farm Bill and reauthorized it in the 2014 Farm Bill with guaranteed funding of at least $50 million annually for the duration of the five-year bill.
Last year, GrandyOats, an organic foods company located in a former elementary school in Hiram, Maine, received a $20,000 REAP grant to install a renewable energy system. In doing so, the company has made history, becoming Maine’s first 100 percent solar-powered, net-zero food production facility. Its 228-panel, solar photovoltaic system generates 96,000 kWh of electricity annually. The company’s focus on renewable energy encompasses all parts of the production process, from cooking to heating and more.
From 2009 to date, REAP has helped finance more than 11,600 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that have reduced energy costs for roughly 15,000 rural businesses. During this period, USDA has provided more than $380 million in grants and almost $688 million in loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural small business owners. When operational, these projects will generate or save almost 9 million megawatt hours – enough to power more than 730,000 homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more 5 million metric tons in carbon dioxide each year. That is the equivalent of removing 1.5 million cars from our roads.
For more information on this program please contact Brian Wilson, Energy Coordinator at 990-9168, or at brian.wilson@me.usda.gov or view page 71689 of the October 18 Federal Register.
USDA Rural Development has Area Offices located in Presque Isle, Bangor, Lewiston, and Scarborough, as well as a State Office, located in Bangor. There are 54 employees working to deliver the agency’s Housing, Business, and Community Programs, which are designed to improve the economic stability of rural communities, businesses, residents, and farmers, and improve the quality of life in rural Maine. Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA Rural Development's web site at http://www.rd.usda.gov/me.