{"id":19290,"date":"2024-04-17T13:29:45","date_gmt":"2024-04-17T17:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/?p=19290"},"modified":"2024-05-08T13:31:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T17:31:49","slug":"twenty-oregon-businesses-awarded-rural-energy-grants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merkley.senate.gov\/es\/twenty-oregon-businesses-awarded-rural-energy-grants\/","title":{"rendered":"Twenty Oregon Businesses Awarded Rural Energy Grants"},"content":{"rendered":"

Negocios de Oreg\u00f3n<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A busy Klamath Falls dental office<\/a>, a popular farm store in Gervais<\/a> and a landmark Astoria craft brewery<\/a> are among the recipients of $4.4 million in federal funding for rural green energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the 20 projects selected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are photovoltaic displays in communities outside the Portland metro area, according to a list circulated this week by the offices of Oregon\u2019s U.S. senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two projects valued the highest are both worth $1 million. In Burns, Burns Solar will get a 100-megawatt ground-mounted solar PV system that will produce electricity to be sold to residents through the Oregon Community Solar Program. In Astoria, Fort George Brewery will install a 560-kilowatt PV system on its brewery roof. The array is expected to lower the brewer\u2019s annual utility bill by $60,907.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The remaining projects are worth $561,000 or less. The smallest is $12,000 allotted to the Dirty Cowgirl Saloon in Wasco to replace its diesel furnace with an energy efficient heat pump. That upgrade is expected to reduce the saloon\u2019s annual energy bill by $2,581 or 25%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grant money comes from the USDA\u2019s Rural Energy for America Program which dates to 2008.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REAP provides grants and loans to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to purchase wind, solar and other green energy improvements. These upgrades are intended to help businesses strengthen operations, generate income and create jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any small business or ag producer may apply<\/a> for REAP benefits so long as they have no outstanding delinquent federal taxes, judgments or tax debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REAP recipients have the hope of completely replacing their energy consumption with solar and saving thousands in energy costs, USDA\u2019s Oregon state director, Margi Hoffmann, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith these grants, farms can cut emissions and grow resiliency while continuing to invest in innovative new products and attracting the best people,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyden and Merkley trumpeted the awardees in a joint press release Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe investments will be used to help farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses adopt renewable energy technologies, conduct critical energy audits and cut costs and carbon pollution with energy efficient improvements,\u201d according to the statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wyden y Merkley last announced<\/a> a slate of green-energy projects in September, with the 28 recipients of $2.3 million in funding from the federal Inflation Reduction Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The upside of a solar array is widely known: long-term savings and low-to-zero maintenance. But for many businesses, the upfront costs of a PV system are prohibitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2024 REAP recipients:<\/p>\n\n\n\n