USDA grants funds for rural energy projects - St. Louis Business Journal:

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“The demand for energy is rising evert year and our funding program will help agriculture producerx and ruralsmall businesses,” said Eric Vigil, New Mexic o Rural Development’s water and environmental programs actingf state director. Vigil said renewable energies, such as solar, biomass and geothermal will qualifhy underthe program’s “The program is geared toward energy efficiency and we expect to find interest from applicants who want to initiats a variety of different projects,” Vigil Some energy efficient initiatives that would qualify include installingt wind turbines and solar Establishing anaerobic digesters and creating more energy-efficientr agricultural production by upgrading windows, boilers and lighting also will qualify under the terms of the Especially important this according to officials, is a new section that financez feasib ility studies — which can includes money for meteorological towers.
These “met help locate the strongest wind area so that wind turbinezs can be mostadvantageously placed. The applicationse require a completed energy assessment orenergy audit. Unlikwe previous years, the cost of the audit or assessmenf will be paid for bythe government, should the applicanf be successful. This year, loan limits have increased. The deadline for applications isJuly 31. More information abouty the program can be found onits , or by e-mailingt Jesse Monfort Bopp, the rural energty coordinator, at jesse.bopp@nm.usda.gov.