Part of Investing in America Agenda Small Business Funding through Rural Energy for America Program
Vermont Business Magazine U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) State Director for Rural Development (RD), Sarah Waring, announced today that the agency is investing $2,698,024 million in grants through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to support six small businesses in Vermont and New Hampshire. The funding is made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest-ever investment in combating the climate crisis, and is part of a larger initiative that will award $104 million in loans and grants to more than 300 clean energy projects in 34 states.
“Under the historic, bi-partisan Inflation Reduction Act, the Rural Energy for America Program has doubled its economic impact on small businesses throughout the Twin-States and across the country," said Waring. "Today's announcement highlights once again the incredible, life-changing benefits that Vermont and New Hampshire businesses are enjoying under the Biden-Harris Administration. A 168 percent increase in REAP applications over the last two years is proof that resilient, resourceful rural economies are being built from the inside out by the folks who make, sell and distribute the goods that make our lives better.”
Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA has invested more than $2.3 billion through REAP in 7,923 renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. REAP enables agricultural producers and rural small business owners to expand their use of wind, solar, geothermal and small hydropower energy and make energy efficiency improvements. These innovations help them increase their income, grow their businesses and address climate change while lowering energy costs for American families.
Examples of the awards being announced today:
- In East Ryegate, Vt., the Ryegate Biomass Power Plant will use a $1 million REAP grant to install a Waste Heat Recovery module, which will capture organic waste heat from wood biomass to generate new energy. This project will produce an additional 315,466 mmBtus annually, valued at $1,892,676.
- Britton Lumber Company in Bath, NH, will use $581,995 in REAP funding to install a 300HP biomass boiler. The wood gasification steam-boiler system will generate approximately 95 percent of the site's thermal energy needs from wood residues produced on-site as lumber byproducts. Annual savings are estimated to exceed $225,000.
- In Fairlee, Vt., Wings Market & Deli is installing a roof-mounted solar array to generate 117,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, courtesy of a $142,866 REAP grant. The energy produced is valued at more than $19,000 annually, and is estimated to offset 33 percent of the company’s historic energy consumption.
Vermont & New Hampshire Projects
| Britton Lumber Company LLC | $581,995 | This Rural Development investment will be used to install a 300HP biomass boiler system in a new boiler building at Britton Lumber Company LLC, a softwood processing mill, located in Bath, New Hampshire. The new wood gasification steam-boiler system will generate approximately 95 percent of the site's thermal energy needs from wood residues that are already produced on-site as byproducts of its lumber production process. The company's annual savings are estimated to exceed $225,000. |
| Ryegate Associates | $1,000,000 | This Rural Development investment will be used to install a Waste Heat Recovery module, which will retrofit the Ryegate Biomass Power Plant in East Ryegate, Vermont, to capture waste heat, therefore generating new heat energy. This module will be installed at the base of the plant stack and increase the amount of energy generated by the Ryegate Plant by an additional 315,466 mmBtus annually, for which Ryegate has an off-take agreement. The Ryegate Biomass Power Plant has been in continuous operation since 1992, producing 22.5MW/19.6 MW (Net) to the Vermont electric grid from 250,000 annual tons of wood chips. This project will retrofit this operation, converting it into a combined heat and power plant. The annual value of this additional energy generation is $1,892,676. |
| Autumn Harp Inc. | $784,245 | This Rural Development investment will be used to install a roof-mounted solar array at Autumn Harp, a beauty and personal-care contract manufacturer in Essex, Vermont. The array is expected to generate roughly 770,500 kilowatt hours (kWh) yearly, a value of $114,100. This will replace approximately 23 percent of the Company's historical annual energy consumption. |
| Gregory Beaudoin | $97,523 | This Rural Development investment will be used to install roof-mounted solar arrays on the barns at Greg Beaudoin Farm in Jeffersonville, Vermont. The project will generate an estimated 81,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually, and offset energy consumption from the daily operations and generate additional income. Historically consuming roughly 57,000 kWh of power valued at $10,100, Beaudoin Farm will account for all of the expense through the new renewable-energy project. |
| P&P Marketplace Inc. | $142,866 | This Rural Development investment will be used to install a roof-mounted solar array at the Wings Market & Deli in Fairlee, Vermont. The array will generate an estimated 117,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) valued at $19,100, which will offset roughly 33 percent of the business's annual energy consumption. |
| Peter Gebbie dba Gebbie's Maplehurst Farm | $91,395 | This Rural Development investment will be used to install a 67.2 kilowatt (kW) direct current (DC), roof-mounted solar array on a new storage shed at Gebbie's Maplehurst Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. To be more environmentally friendly, Farm owners converted from dairy to beef and installed a methane digester in 2012. Now, the shed's rooftop will be transformed into an economically and environmentally beneficial, energy-generating asset that will produce 77,315 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity, offsetting 88 percent of the Farm's annual energy usage and saving over $15,000 annually. |
USDA continues to accept REAP applications and has set aside a portion of the program funds to support underutilized renewable energy technologies, like wind and geothermal power. For additional information, contact USDA at (802) 828-6070 or [email protected].
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. REAP is a part of the President’s Justice40 Initiative which sets a goal that 40% of the benefits from certain federal investments go to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. USDA Rural Development 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. Visit the Rural Data Gateway to learn how and where these investments are impacting rural America. To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates, visit the GovDelivery Subscriber Page.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under 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.
Source: Montpelier, Vt., Oct. 3, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture
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