WASHINGTON, May 12, 2016 - Since 2009, the Agriculture Department
(USDA) has helped thousands of small rural businesses, farmers and ranchers
transition from fossil fuel-based energy to renewable energy and energy
efficiency solutions, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a recent blog
post.
The department’s investments in renewable energy projects of
all sizes allowed rural Americans to save more than 10.4 billion kilowatt-hours
(kWh), enough energy to power more than 959,000 American homes, Vilsack said.
“USDA has invested $38 billion in electric loans and more
than $1 billion for smart grid technologies since 2009, helping build more than
185,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines serving approximately 5
million rural customers annually,” he said, adding that some 2,200 USDA wind
and solar projects are powering more than 130,000 homes annually.
The blog post also highlighted USDA’s Rural
Energy for America Program (REAP), which provided over $365 million in
grants and over $440 million in loan guarantees to agricultural producers and
rural small business owners, financing over 11,000 projects since 2009. Vilsack
said REAP projects are generating and saving power equivalent to removing more
than 1 million cars from the road.
In the forestry sector, Vilsack said USDA has invested
nearly $1 billion through grants, loans, and loan guarantees to support over
230 wood energy projects, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, supporting rural
economic growth and advancing forest restoration.
“Our nation’s farming and ranching communities continue to
lead the charge towards a more sustainable future,” he said. “Stay
tuned for more this year when we will look at how USDA investments in
renewable energy helped the United States move closer to a clean energy future
and healthier planet for our children.”
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