2010 Rural Energy for America Program (REAP): Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Announced
04/29/2010 — Morgan Chinnock

USDA, Rural Development, announced that the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) is open for applications focused on Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements this week. This section of the program offers both grants and guaranteed loans. The purpose of the program is to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy costs and consumption and help meet the Nation’s critical energy needs. Following is a brief summary; see official program rules for full details.

See information below regarding:Wind and solar

General information:

  • Eligible applicants: Only for-profit agricultural producers and rural small businesses. Non-profits are not eligible.
  • Project types: Unlike many grant programs, REAP funds can be used for equipment. Energy audits, renewable energy development, and feasibility studies are not eligible under this announcement, but will be in future REAP announcements.
  • Funding amounts: Total amount available in program not yet designated. For renewable energy system grants, the minimum grant is $2,500 and the maximum is $500,000. For energy efficiency improvement grants, the minimum grant is $1,500 and the maximum grant is $250,000. To ensure fairness for small projects, the agency will not use less than 20 percent of the funds allocated for grants of $20,000 or less.
  • One-step process: Funding decisions are made on the basis of one round of applications.

Project eligibility:

To be eligible, the project must have the following characteristics, per 7 CFR 4280.108 (find a link where you can look up sections in the Code of Federal Regulations—CFR—on our Useful Links page):

  1. The project must be for the purchase of a renewable energy system or to make energy efficiency improvements.
  2. The project must be for a precommercial or commercially available, and replicable technology.
  3. The project must have technical merit, as determined using the procedures specified in § 4280.112(d).
  4. The project must be located in a rural area, as defined in § 4280.103.
  5. The applicant must be the owner of the project and control the revenues and expenses of the project, including operation and maintenance. A third party under contract to the owner may be used to control revenues and expenses and manage the operation and/or maintenance of the project.
  6. Sites must be controlled by the agricultural producer or small business for the financing term of any associated Federal loans or loan guarantees.
  7. Satisfactory sources of revenue in an amount sufficient to provide for the operation, management, maintenance, and debt service of the project must be available for the life of the project.

Key dates:

June 30, 2010: Final application due date.

How to apply:

Applications must be submitted to the Rural Development Energy Coordinator in the state where their proposed project is located. Grant applicants may also submit applications via grants.gov, but we recommend submitting hard copies whenever possible.

Matching funds:

Grants will not fund more than 25% of the total project cost. Balance of funds must come from applicant or loan guarantee or combination of both.

Grant writing:

Read about our grant writing services and our over 90% success rate. We have successfully written for the REAP in the past. If interested, please contact us for more information or a fee estimate.

For more REAP details, see the full Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). Also see Geoff’s postings on the REAP: Pending Announcement and Thinking about a REAP? Read this first!

 

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