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LAS VEGAS, Nevada, US, March 1, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide
US$176.5 million in loan guarantees and $11.4 million in grants to
support investments in renewable energies and energy efficiency by
agricultural producers and small businesses.
“The availability of these funds will further the Bush
administration's goal to increase renewable energy from domestic
sources, reducing our dependence on imported oil and strengthening
our economy," secretary Mike Johanns told a conference of the
Renewable Fuels Association. “These loans and grants advance USDA's
comprehensive energy strategy announced last December to help
farmers, ranchers and rural businesses mitigate the impact of high
energy costs and develop long-term solutions.”
The Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency loan and grant program was
established under the 2002 Farm Bill to encourage agricultural
producers and small rural businesses to create renewable energy
systems. A total of 435 grants for $67 million have been awarded in
36 states since the program began and, last year, renewable energy
loan guarantees were included under the program for the first time.
The program provides a maximum loan guarantee of $10 million to a
developer, with a minimum grant of $2,500 for renewable energy
systems and a maximum is $500,000. For energy efficiency
improvements, the minimum grant is $1,500 and the maximum is
$250,000. Rural development grants will not exceed 25% of eligible
program costs, and the combination of grants and loans cannot exceed
50%.
One $10 million guarantee was combined with another funding program
to construct a 20 MW biomass green power plant in Arizona that will
use wildfire-damaged timber and waste from a nearby paper mill as
its fuel source. Grants have been awarded to fund a range of wind,
solar, biomass, geothermal and conservation technologies.
In his speech, Johanns highlighted that energy secretary Samuel
Bodman will provide $160 million in cost-shared funding over three
years to construct three biorefineries. The solicitation as part of
the Biofuels Initiative announced by president George Bush, which
will promote the use of non-food-based biomass such as agricultural
waste, trees, forest residues and perennial grasses to meet green
fuel, green power and green heat applications.
The FY07 budget proposal for USDA includes $250 million for each of
the next year years for renewables and energy efficiency projects
through Rural Development's loan and grants programs, as well as a
core investment of $85 million for USDA's energy-related projects.
The funding includes resources to support research and demonstration
projects in renewables, and additional efforts to support energy
development and transmission across public lands.
Applications for grants must be submitted by May 12, while
guaranteed loans will be awarded on a continuous basis. Any loan
funds not obligated by August will be made available for competitive
grants.
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