Workshop set to help out state ag producers

Farmers, ranchers and rural businesses from across Texas are invited to attend a workshop designed to help them obtain federal grants and loans to install their own renewable energy projects or make energy efficiency improvements to existing operations.

The Jan. 23 workshop in San Antonio will provide intense, hands-on technical help for potential applicants of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Section 9006 renewable energy and energy efficiency grant and loan programs.

Since the Section 9006 program began in 2003, USDA Rural Development has awarded $87.3 million in grants and $34.3 million in loan guarantees to 844 applicants across the country for renewable energy projects including utility scale wind power, smaller wind, biomass, biofuels and solar activities.

Past awards have assisted with projects such as grain dryer replacements and energy efficiency improvements in irrigation systems and at poultry houses.

Grant funds can be used to pay up to 25 percent of eligible project costs.

The loan guarantees can fund up to 50 percent of eligible projects.

“This workshop is designed for ag producers and rural businesses serious about getting financial help for their own renewable energy or energy efficiency projects,” said Travis Brown, renewable energy specialist with ORCA.

Co-sponsored by the Office of Rural Community Affairs (ORCA), the free workshop, “How to Win a USDA Renewable Energy/Energy Efficiency Grant/Loan,” will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., Jan. 23, at the U.S.A.F. School of Medicine, 2601 Louis Bauer Road, Building 775, Room 196 (Large Auditorium), Brooks City-Base in San Antonio.

Personnel from USDA Rural Development will walk attendees through the application process. Experts from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will provide technical assistance to attendees.

“Applying for these grants and loans can be a daunting task,” Brown said. “This workshop

will make that task easier and also provide tips on how other applicants have been successful. ”

Other co-sponsors of the workshop include Texas Farm Bureau, State Energy Conservation Office, Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association, General Land Office, Blue Skies Collaborative, Texas Department of Agriculture and the Rural Alliance for Renewable Energy.

“Texas has more potential than any other state to produce renewable energy and these USDA grants and loans help us reach that potential,” Brown said. “They can also help rural Texans cut their energy costs and reduce our reliance on foreign oil.”

For more information on the workshop, contact USDA Rural Development at 254- 742-9780 or Travis Brown at ORCA at 512-936-7878 or toll free 800-544-2042