New Energy Audit Grants and Renewable Energy Assistance Programs For Rural America - USDA

Photo courtesy of Clean Energy Resources Teams, St. Paul, Minn..

WASHINGTON, D.C.- In an effort to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses identify ways to reduce energy consumption, the United States Department of Agriculture is announcing that it will give grants to eligible applicants to conduct energy audits and renewable energy development assistance programs under the Rural Energy for America Program.

Those eligible to receive funds include: state, local, and tribal governments, land grant colleges and universities, and other institutions of higher education, as well as rural electric cooperatives and public power entities.

Audits will be conducted by certified energy managers or professional engineers that focus on potential capital-intensive projects and that will involve the detailed gathering of field data and engineering analysis. In addition, audits will provide detailed project costs and savings information.

To ensure that the largest number of eligible applicants can participate in the program, grant funds will be limited to up to $100,000 per approved applicant, according to the Federal Register.

As part of the stipulations of the program, an agricultural producer or rural small business will have to pay at least 25 percent of the cost of an energy audit, which will be retained by the entity conducting the audit.

Agricultural producers under this program are individuals or companies, where 50 percent or more of their gross income is derived from the production of products including: crops, livestock, forestry products, hydroponics, nursery stock, or aquaculture. In addition, a rural area is considered anywhere within a state, that is not a city or town, that has a population of over 50,000 inhabitants.

Entities interested in participating this grant program must submit their applications no later than June 6 through electronic or paper submission. For electronic submission, using Grants.gov, all applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System number, which can be obtained at no cost through the toll-free request line at 866-705-5711 or online. Paper applications must be submitted to the Rural Development State Office in the state in which the applicant’s principal office is located. Further information on the paper application process can be found on the Federal Register.