Farms are energy hungry enterprises that need power for equipment, farming, processing and packaging. In 2007 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched a renewable energy program that would provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to support wind, solar, geothermal and hydroelectric projects on U.S. farms and rural businesses. The idea was that by helping struggling farmers and small business owners to invest in renewable energy technology, Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) could help save those individuals thousands of dollars in energy costs.
By the end of November 2011, the program had already approved $30 million in loans and grants to 516 farmers nationwide, for projects including a 8.36 kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic system for a dairy farm in Massachusetts; energy efficient air compressors, boilers, temperature and lighting controls for a steel factory in Kansas; and a new, energy efficient grain dryer for a farmer in South Dakota. Now, the USDA is ready to boast of the REAP's success. In late March, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack released a report outlining the projects that are under way and reminding other eligible farmers, ranchers and rural business owners that they could be next in line.
image via USDA
Titled, "The Impact of the Rural Energy for America Program on Promoting Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy," the report boasts that REAP has been extra active since President Obama took office, supporting a total of 5,733 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects nationwide and providing $192 million in grants and $165 million in loan guarantees to agricultural producers and rural small business owners.
