USDA Makes $145M Available For REAP

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced $145 million in funding for 700 loan and grant awards through the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, to help agricultural producers and rural small business owners make energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy investments to reduce energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resiliency of their operations. Energy technologies eligible for the loan and grant awards include wind, renewable biomass, ocean, geothermal, hydroelectric, green hydrogen, and solar.  What exactly are solar energy projects?

“The scope of the REAP funding in terms of technologies is actually very broad and would include solar photovoltaics, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, or solar thermal, which can deliver heat for, say, hot water or agricultural processes," said Andy Walker, a senior research fellow at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  "Photovoltaics are glass modules, each one producing electric current and voltage. Those are wired together in series to get a system voltage of up to 600 volts, and then those series strings are wired in parallel to produce an array of any amount of power. Batteries are included in the scope of the REAP funding. So a photovoltaic system that included batteries to store solar charge for when it's needed would also be eligible, but batteries are expensive, so a lot of times it's just the PV modules and then an inverter to convert the direct current from the PV modules into alternating current that's compatible with the utility system. And then other components might include a transformer and a production meter, but neither the photovoltaic modules or the inverter require regular maintenance in the same way other generators would, but they do require monitoring and maintenance as components might fail.” 

“The solar resource occurs every day, and it kind of trickles in," Walker continued.  "So loads that are not too peaky, loads that are smooth throughout the day, have an ability to use the solar power directly versus a load that's only turned on for a couple hours a week or something like that. Loads that are constant, pretty much over the daylight hours and seven days a week, are probably the best loads. Facilities where the price of energy is high, of course, have a shorter payback for solar technology. Places where the grid is sufficient to support a solar system under a net-metering policy, a lot of times, if we want to produce extra power during the day, to get a credit under a net metering policy, the electric service to the facility might have to be big enough. An example of that might be if there's a small power line to something like a Stockwell, it might be hard for that small power line to export enough solar power during the day or around noon to offset 24 hours of consumption. Sufficient land areas are other criteria. So a nice load that's nice and smooth throughout the day, high utility rates, sufficient electrical service, and sufficient room for land area to locate a PV array might be like the four most important things to look for.”

What does it take to ensure your proposal is ready for the REAP application review process?

“One of the more common mistakes that we find is that the cost is underestimated, especially in rural areas," Walker said.  "Benchmarks cost might not be accurate, so it's probably a good idea to do some investigation, to talk to some local suppliers, and make sure that your cost estimate is sufficient. One of the things that's often overlooked is charges that the utility might charge to hang a new production meter there, or two way bi-directional net meter, or they might have to upgrade the electrical service on their side, such as reconfiguring the circuit breakers to anticipate this reverse power flow from the solar system, and maybe to revise the settings on their voltage regulation system. So the utility will have some costs that might have to be incurred by the project, so it makes sense to talk to the utility about costs that they might impose as well. And then finally, don't forget about operation and maintenance in your overall financial prospectus.” 

Agricultural producers and rural small business owners who want to learn more about renewable energy concepts can visit the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Energy Basics Website.  Anyone interested in applying for USDA’s REAP funding is encouraged to contact their local USDA State Energy Coordinators for more information. Interested applicants can also visit Rural Development's Website. Enter Rural Energy for America (REAP) in the search box.

The application window closes September 30th.

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