USDA Awards $18.2 Million for Efficiency and Renewable Energy

September 26, 2007

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on September 20th that 345 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in 45 states have been selected to receive a total of $18.2 million in grants and loans. Rewarded through the USDA's Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Improvements program, the funds consist of $13.4 million in grants and $4.8 million in guaranteed loans. The funds provide financial assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to install renewable energy generation systems or to make energy efficiency improvements. The renewable energy systems typically involve wind turbines, biofuel facilities, and biomass-to-energy systems such as anaerobic digesters or biomass combustion systems. See the USDA press release and the list of recipients (PDF 25 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

The USDA also announced its selection of 162 projects that will receive $22.7 million through its Value-Added Producer Grant program. While a lion's share of the program funds support efforts to create and market new food products, the program also supports farm-based renewable energy projects. While the USDA doesn't provide a breakdown of the funds by type, at least 15 of the recipients have "energy" or some variant of the word in their name. The projects will be located in 40 states, as well as Puerto Rico. See the USDA press release and the full list of recipients (PDF 378 KB).