Investing in the Future of Maine's Great Outdoors with Renewable Energy

From USDA:

Posted by Virginia Manuel, Maine State Director, USDA Rural Development, on January 12, 2015 at 10:30 AM

Standing in front of the solar array at Mt. Abram, Maine’s first solar-powered ski area are Solar Market Owner Naoto Inoue; Mt. Abram Owner Matthew Hancock; USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel; Senator Angus King's representative, Ben Tucker; and Senator Susan Collins' representative, Carlene Tremblay.

Recently I had the privilege of joining Matthew Hancock and his team at Mt. Abram, a unique, sustainable ski area located in the mountains of Western Maine. An immense 803 panel solar photovoltaic system greeted gatherers as they drove in, the result of a Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant awarded by Maine USDA Rural Development. The system in Greenwood is the second largest solar project in the country for a ski area, the first ever in Maine, and as a sign next to the solar panels boasts, it is also the “World’s Largest Snow Making Site.”

This important project was made possible in part by a USDA Rural Development Rural Energy for America Program Grant, which provided $235,000 of the $940,000 total project cost. Matt’s business will benefit significantly, with 70 percent of operations at the ski area operating on solar generated power, while skiers and nature enthusiasts will appreciate its green, carbon emission-reducing features, making Mt. Abram truly “Maine’s Sustainable Mountain Playground.” In addition to its solar features, Mt. Abram heats the lodge with wood pellets and was the second ski area in North America to install electric vehicle chargers.

Mt. Abram expects to draw 40,000 skiers to its mountain this winter season, with many from out of state coming to take advantage of our snowy winters!  These ski enthusiasts will patronize the local restaurants, shops, and lodging facilities in the rural communities surrounding the ski area and helps to support 125 vital jobs at Mt. Abram.

Mt. Abram is the world’s largest solar snow making site.

In addition to supporting USDA’s America’s Great Outdoors initiative, this project joins a long line of renewable energy firsts here in Maine that have been supported by USDA Rural Development. Other landmark renewable energy projects include Maine’s first net-zero solar greenhouse, Cozy Acres, in North Yarmouth; Maine’s first net-zero solar affordable housing complex, Brookside Village senior housing, in Farmington; and Maine’s first affordable solar wharf, Potts Harbor Lobster Company wharf, in Harpswell.

We have a responsibility for good stewardship of our outdoor spaces, and going forward, USDA Rural Development’s renewable energy programs will continue to help preserve the pristine beauty of Maine’s natural resources!

Matt Hancock and Virginia Manuel celebrate after throwing a switch and officially commissioning the solar panels.

USDA to Co-Host Paccific Northwest Wood-to-Biofuel Conference

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Eini Lowell, Research Forest Product Technologist, U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, on March 31, 2014 at 2:00 PM

In conjunction with Washington State University Extension, USDA is co-hosting the Northwest Wood-Based Biofuels/Co-Products Conference in late April. The conference will be April 28-30, 2014 in Seattle, Wash.

The goal of the conference is to bring together the community of researchers, business leaders, government agencies, and economic development personnel to share and exchange research findings, ideas, and strategies for the common goal of sustainable development of wood-based bio-refineries for production of biofuels and co-products in the Pacific Northwest.

As Secretary Vilsack has noted, advanced biofuels are a key component of President Obama’s ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy to reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign oil and take control of America’s energy future.  Energy derived from woody biomass has enormous potential benefits for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing clean, home-grown energy, and providing economic opportunities for rural America. Markets for woody biomass can also bolster forest restoration activities on both public and private lands, improving the ecological health of our forests and reducing the impacts of global climate change.

For more information, contact Vikram Yadama at 509-335-6261 or email: vyadama@wsu.edu

Funds Promote Development of Rural Wood to Energy Projects

USDA Blog Post:

Posted by Patrick Holmes, Special Assistant, Natural Resources and Environment, on September 13, 2013 at 1:00 PM

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Bioenergy Memorandum of Understanding is signed by wood energy partners (left - right) Biomass Thermal Energy Council, Executive Director Joseph Seymour; Alliance for Green Heat, President John Ackerly; USDA Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden; Pellet Fuels Institute Executive, Director Jennifer Hedrick; Biomass Power Association, President and CEO Bob Cleaves, at the USDA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2013. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

Earlier this week, USDA, U.S. Forest Service and partners took a major step to improve forest management, create rural jobs, prevent wildfires, and expand promising renewable energy opportunities.

Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden joined leaders from the Alliance for Green Heat, the Biomass Power Association, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council, and the Pellet Fuels Institute here in Washington for the announcement of a new partnership agreement. Acting as master of ceremonies for the signing event was Acting USDA Rural Development Under Secretary Doug O’Brien.  Through the Rural Energy for America program and other programs, Rural Development has been a leader in promoting deployment of wood-to-energy projects.

This agreement focuses on promoting wood energy nationwide to reduce fire risk, bolster rural economic development, improve air quality and help meet the Obama Administration’s “All of the Above” renewable energy and energy efficiency goals. The organizations support the use of wood energy across the scale of users – from residential users, to commercial and institutional facilities, to industrial production of heat and/or electricity to drive businesses and feed the electrical grid.

For more than a decade, USDA has supported wood energy as part of a forest restoration economy. Since 2009 USDA has invested over $956 million (nearly $1 billion) through grants, loans, and loan guarantees to support over 200 wood energy projects across the country.

Led by the Forest Service, this work helps to restore the health of forests and watersheds, provide rural areas with cost-effective energy alternatives, and create new income and employment opportunities in sectors ranging from engineering and construction, to manufacturing and forestry. It also provides an economical alternative to fuel oil heating in areas where natural gas supplies are limited. USDA’s Rural Development mission area and the Farm Services Agency also support wood energy through a variety of grants, loans, and loan guarantees. All told, USDA agencies contributed over $500 million last year to support wood energy.

The Deputy Secretary also announced the award of over $1 million dollars in grants to develop wood energy teams with Alaska, California, Idaho, Minnesota and New Hampshire. These cooperative agreements signal that successful wood energy projects and forest restoration efforts demand partnership at all levels as well as the sustained commitment of many and diverse forest users.  The federal funds will leverage $1.8 million in non-federal investments.

Grant recipients are:

Idaho Governor’s Office of Energy Resources, Boise

The Watershed Research & Training Center, Hayfork, Calif.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Saint Paul

North Country Resource Conservation & Development Council, Gilford, N.H.

The Alaska Energy Authority, Anchorage

For more information on the cooperative agreement program, visit http://na.fs.fed.us/werc/wood-energy/. For more information on USDA’s renewable energy programs click here.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Krysta Harden hosts the signing of the USDA Bioenergy Memorandum of Understanding and was joined by leaders for the announcement of the new partnership agreement at the USDA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on September 11, 2013. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

USDA Blog » Acting Under Secretary Discusses USDA’s Role in Building Support for Aviation Biofuels

USDA Blog » Acting Under Secretary Discusses USDA’s Role in Building Support for Aviation Biofuels

The Legend Grows – South Dakota Seed Company Saves Big Bucks with Biomass

Posted by USDA South Dakota Rural Development Area Specialist Darlene Bresson, on March 23, 2012 at 1:30 PM

As the team at Legend Seeds of De Smet, South Dakota, gears up for spring and the 2012 growing season, they do so from a newly-constructed, state-of-the-art facility, located just east of their former space on Highway 14.  The new office, seed lab and expanded warehouse space were designed to better accommodate the additional full-time office staff needed to support the stretching trade area and growing field staff for the Legend organization. Thanks to a USDA program, the building is also energy efficient.

USDA Business & Cooperative Program Director Dana Kleinsasser(left), Area Specialist Darlene Bresson, and Legend Seeds President Glen Davis check out the biomass boiler system, which saves 60 percent of the cost of heating the seed company building, compared to the previous system.

The former office space that was purchased in 1992 had been remodeled and updated over the years but Legend owner, Glen Davis, recognized that the increasing demand for productivity would be best met if he augmented the workspace and workflow for his talented team.  In addition to a fresh contemporary look and serviceable layout, the new space boasts an impressive, highly-efficient heating and cooling system powered by a 250,000 BTU biomass boiler.

Using the biomass boiler accomplished two goals – to reduce energy usage and to reduce the amount of carry-over corn that was going to the local landfill.  Typically, renewable energy, such as the biomass boiler, carry large up-front installation costs.  But with the assistance of the Rural Energy for America program (REAP) from USDA Rural Development, Legend Seeds received a grant for 25 percent of the boiler cost.  With the boiler, Legend’s energy bill is projected to be reduced by nearly 60 percent, and the cost to dispose of waste corn will decline also – a win-win situation.

“The funding provided by REAP has been not only a help in construction of the new office’s heating system but also the advice and support has been valuable in completing the entire project,” said Glen Davis, president of Legend Seeds.

Seed company President Glen Davis explains to Business & Cooperative Program Director Dana Kleinsasser how the USDA-funded boiler heats the facility, saving 60 percent of the cost of energy.

USDA is currently accepting applications for Rural Energy for America funding, but the deadline for some applications is rapidly approaching.  To find out more, call your State Rural Development office or click here.  To read more about how REAP has been used to reduce energy costs across America, click here.

Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl Cook Announces Obama Administration Accomplishments Supporting Renewable Energy

Posted by Dawn Knepp, USDA Pennsylvania Public Information Officer, on March 22, 2012 at 10:00 AM

David Fink, owner of Heidel Hollow Farm, described the farm’s energy savings from the 896 panel solar array funded by USDA Rural Development to USDA officials and others gathered at his farm.

The sun shone brightly on the 896 panel solar array at Heidel Hollow Farm in Germansville, Penn., as USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl L. Cook, other USDA officials and guests celebrated the farm’s successful renewable energy project and the announcement of a new USDA Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Report. Heidel Hollow Farm, a family-owned, 1,600 acre hay farm, was awarded two USDA  Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants in 2010. The grants were used toward a solar energy project that provides approximately 252,800 KW of electricity used in the hay compressing operation of the farm and an energy efficiency project that replaced one diesel engine with five electric motors, saving over 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel each year.  The compactor increases the density of baled hay by 2 1/2 times for more efficient shipping to overseas customers.

According to Deputy Under Secretary Cook, “Rural Development’s REAP grants to Heidel Hollow Farm are excellent examples of funding that contributes to making farm operations more energy efficient and economical. This funding for renewable energy projects helps rebuild and revitalize rural America.”   The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency report, released by Secretary Vilsack, highlights the ways in which USDA’s REAP program contributes to U.S. energy independence. Heidel Hollow Farm is one of 79 renewable energy projects funded in Pennsylvania since 2009. In total, Rural Development invested over $5.6 million in Pennsylvania energy projects.  Click here to find out how REAP is making a difference and saving energy in Pennsylvania.

USDA Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary Cheryl L. Cook, Esq. lifts one of the 35 lb. compressed hay bales currently being produced at Heidel Hollow Farm in Germansville for overseas shipment. Energy used to compress the bales comes from solar power.

The deadline for some 2012 Energy applications is approaching. To find out more, contact your local USDA Rural Development office or click here.

Hundreds Learn About Biodigester Energy Options at a Wisconsin Seminar

Hundreds Learn About Biodigester Energy Options at a Wisconsin Seminar

Posted by Kelly Edwards, Wisconsin USDA Public Information Officer, on March 21, 2012 at 12:00 PM

Hundreds of people, over the web or in person, learned about the financing and technology ofanaerobic digester systems, the subject of a pair of webinars recently hosted at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  A broad spectrum of individuals participated including academics, farmers, and representatives of the environmental community.

The webinars, addressing two critical issues in renewable energy production specifically anaerobic digesters, were part of the Renewable Energy Education Field Days Program. The program is a series of courses targeted to landowners, community leaders, and dairy farmers that focuses on the multiple issues involved in renewable energy production—from feedstock production and refinery conversion technologies to handling, storage, legal and financial issues. The programs provide information useful in deciding whether to implement renewable energy technology in their operation.

The first webinar, Financing a Anaerobic Digester System, showcased dairy farmers and community leaders who shared their first-hand experiences in financing, installing, and maintaining digester systems. Commercial and private lenders also spoke of their experiences in financing digester operations. Topics included return on investment, private funding, government/private partnership funding options, cost of construction, potential revenue generation streams, avoided environmental costs, tax incentives and cost of operation, including management and labor costs.

Technical Aspects of Anaerobic Digester Systems was the title of the second webinar. This session examined digester technologies–psychrophilic (covered lagoon), mesophilic (plug flow and completely mixed), and thermophilic (completely mixed).  Farmer/operators discussed why they selected a specific technology for their operation, as well as their operational and management experiences with those technologies.

The webinars were organized in collaboration with Farm Foundation, USDA Rural Development, USDA Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy and the Wisconsin Bioenergy Initiative of the University of Wisconsin.

The webinars originated from the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

For more information about USDA’s energy programs, click here.