Press Release

Welch Applauds $2 Million in USDA Investments to Lower Energy Costs for Vermont Farm and Small Businesses

Oct 4, 2024

Inflation Reduction Act and USDA-funded grants will help create jobs and support energy efficiency improvements

BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy,celebrated the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement of more than $2.1 million to Vermont to support renewable energy projects and help lower energy costs for rural farmers and small businesses. USDA’s investment in Vermont through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) will create over $2 million in energy generation by funding the installation of new roof-mounted solar panels and retrofitting buildings to capture heat waste. The projects will increase the amount of energy generated by 93,499,773 kilowatt hours (kWh)— enough to power over 8,500 homes.

These projects are partially funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, which Senator Welch helped pass in 2022. The REAP program provides guaranteed loan financing and grants to farmers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. For example, farms could apply for funding to buy more efficient processing equipment, weatherize a barn, or install solar panels on their land.

“Vermont’s farmers and small businesses are on the front lines in the fight against climate change. With the Inflation Reduction Act, we made historic investments to lower energy costs for our agricultural producers and boost renewable energy production. These new investments will be game-changing in our work to achieve a clean energy economy that works for everyone.” said Senator Welch. “I’m pleased to see the positive impact of this law reaching agricultural producers and small business owners in rural communities across Vermont.”

REAP grants will be used to support projects in Vermont that include:

$1,000,000 to retrofit the Ryegate Biomass Power Plant in East Ryegate, Vermont, to capture waste heat, which will generate new heat energy. This module will convert the plant into a combined heat and power plant and increase the amount of energy generated by the Ryegate Plant by an additional 92,453,958 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually. The annual value of this additional energy generation is $1,892,676.
$784,245 to install a roof-mounted solar array at Autumn Harp, a beauty and personal-care contract manufacturer in Essex, Vermont. The array is expected to generate roughly 770,500 kWh yearly, a value of $114,100.
$142,866 to install a roof-mounted solar array at the Wings Market & Deli in Fairlee, Vermont. The array will generate an estimated 117,000 kWh valued at $19,100, which will offset roughly 33% of the business’ annual energy consumption.
$97,523 to install roof-mounted solar arrays on the barns at Greg Beaudoin Farm in Jeffersonville, Vermont. Historically consuming roughly 57,000 kWh of power valued at $10,100, Beaudoin Farm will account for all of the expense through the new renewable-energy project, which will generate an estimated 81,000 kWh annually and offset energy consumption from the daily operations and generate additional income.
$91,395 to install a 67.2 kilowatt (kW) direct current (DC), roof-mounted solar array on a new storage shed at Gabbie’s Maplehurst Farm in Greensboro, Vermont. The shed’s rooftop will be transformed into an economically and environmentally beneficial, energy-generating asset that will produce 77,315 kWh of electricity, offsetting 88% of the Farm’s annual energy usage and saving over $15,000 annually.