U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development is expanding access to clean energy and lower energy bills through Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) investments.
“These renewable energy investments will create a lasting reduction in energy costs four South Dakota rural businesses,” State Director Nikki Gronli said. “Lowering costs leads to increased economic prosperity and security for our rural neighbors and decreases our reliance on foreign energy sources.”
The announcement includes these investments in South Dakota:
- Turbak Law Office in Watertown will receive a $69,400 grant to install a 48-kilowatt roof-mounted, fixed-tilt solar array. This is projected to save $4,682 in energy costs and 66,890 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity per year, which is enough energy to power six homes.
- Novita Aurora LLC in Brookings County will receive a $10 million loan to refinance a commercial property.
USDA has invested more than $2.2 billion through REAP in 7,566 renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements. These projects will help rural small businesses and farmers lower energy bills by an average of $25,000 a year, generate new renewable energy income, and strengthen their resiliency of operations. The energy generated and saved from these projects would provide enough electricity to power more than 630,000 homes over the course of a year.
A complete list of all REAP projects from this announcement can be found online.
REAP enables agricultural producers and rural small business owners to expand their use of wind, solar, geothermal and small hydropower energy and make energy efficiency improvements. These innovations help them increase their income, grow their businesses and address climate change while lowering energy costs for American families.
USDA continues to accept REAP applications and has set aside a portion of the program funds to support underutilized renewable energy technologies, like wind and geothermal power. For additional information, contact a local energy coordinator.
