Energy grants for farms, businesses ready soon

On your mark, get set, plan.

The funding competition is about to begin for owners of farms and small businesses who envision producing renewable energy or otherwise operating with more energy efficiency.

To qualify for the competition, the farms or small businesses must be in rural areas as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development agency. Grants will cover 25 percent of a project, with amounts ranging from a couple thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The quest for funding will begin as soon as Rural Development announces it is accepting grant and loan applications.

The application period is expected to be about 45 days, which is probably not enough time for applicants to hone and develop ideas sound enough for a highly competitive application, according to Norman P. St. Jean, a Rural Development loan specialist in Holden.

To help, Rural Development has scheduled a four-hour information forum from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 16 in Rutland Library to explain the program and answer questions to help people start preparing now.

Eligible energy renewal projects will include proposals for using wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydrogen, he said.

People who have previous received Rural Development funding and who are operating energy-efficient and energy-producing systems will speak at the Jan. 16 forum, Mr. St. Jean said.

"We're going to be hopefully wowing some of these people," he said.

Joint applications also will be accepted, said Mr. St. Jean, adding that several farmers already are discussing filing an application for a joint project. The grants have been awarded annually nationwide since fiscal 2003 after the program was included in the 2002 Farm Bill, according to Rural Development spokeswoman Maril Alsup Stockwell from the agency's Amherst office.

Energy projects involving new construction are not eligible.

Competitors from throughout the country will be vying for the funding, according to Ms. Stockwell. She said there will be about $11.4 million available for grants, plus additional funds for loans.

Mr. St. Jean said the program is not intended for energy production or conservation measures benefiting residences.

According to Ms. Stockwell, most of the applications for renewable energy projects in Massachusetts have come from farms and businesses on Cape Cod. "They're very interested in energy renewal," she said.

She said a company in Fitchburg formerly named Mass Innovation and now called One Oak Hill Road LLC previously won a $500,000 Rural Development grant to help pay for geothermal and solar energy projects. Peter Dion from the company will be a speaker at the Jan. 16 meeting.