USDA offers $1B in renewables grants, including funds for ‘underutilized’ technology like small hydropower
USDA offers $1B in renewables grants, including funds for ‘underutilized’ technology like small hydropower | Utility Dive
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced $1 billion in grants for farmers, ranchers and rural businesses to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency, including a new $144.5 million underutilized technology fund.
As of April 1, the USDA is accepting applications for the grant funding, which is available under the Rural Energy for America Program and provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.
A release from USDA says that recipients can use REAP funds to install renewable energy systems or make energy-efficiency improvements.
“Through the Rural Energy for America Program, USDA and the Biden Administration want to help increase American energy independence by increasing the private sector supply of renewable energy and decreasing the demand for energy through energy efficiency improvements,” a USDA rural development spokesperson said in an email. “Over time, these investments can also help lower the cost of energy for small businesses and agricultural producers.”
REAP’s new underutilized technology fund will “initially” set aside $144.5 million for competitions in 2023 and 2024, and projects eligible for that funding include hydrogen, ocean generation, hydropower below 30 MW and geothermal energy, and others, the spokesperson said.
USDA will disburse the funds via quarterly competitions through Sept. 30, 2024.
The agency says that the maximum funding that can be requested is 50% of the total project cost for any energy-efficiency or zero-emissions renewable energy systems. Renewable energy systems can receive up to $1 million, while energy-efficiency projects can receive up to $500,000. All other projects can receive funding up to 25% of the project’s cost.
“USDA is particularly interested in REAP projects that will help rural communities recover economically through more and better market opportunities and improved infrastructure, reduce climate pollution and increase resilience to the impacts of climate change, conserve and protect farmland, and invest in underserved communities,” the agency said.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: renewables
Renewable energy sources — once the fuel of the future, then practical in specific, narrow applications — are increasingly economic mainstream sources of power generation. Hydropower was long the mainstay of U.S. renewable electricity generation, although wind power surpassed hydro for the first time in 2019, and solar continues its rapid growth. The continued growth of wind and solar, with their fluctuations, is tied in part to improvements in storage technology: batteries.