BRUNSWICK, Maine — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA is partnering with farmers and small businesses to expand access to clean energy and lower energy bills through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Rural Energy for America Technical Assistance Grant Program. USDA is investing $163 million in loans, grants and technical assistance that will support 338 clean energy projects in 39 States and Guam. Many of the projects are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

“The administration is partnering with people in rural communities across our nation to expand access to clean energy and save rural Americans money,” Secretary Vilsack said. “We are hard at work, continuing what we’ve always done, supporting rural small businesses and farmers as they create jobs for their communities and drive economic prosperity.”

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.

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.

The awards will benefit people in Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, New Jersey, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Guam.

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.

A complete list of all REAP projects can be found online.