During a ceremony this morning, USDA Rural Development State Director Terry Brunner presented Fred Rael, the owner of the Sedillo Hill Route 66 Travel Center, with a certificate of completion for the installation of a new solar photovoltaic system.
USDA Rural Development provided a grant for twenty-five percent of the cost to install the solar power array. This financing was made through USDA Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) program. Congress created the REAP program to help farmers, ranchers and small rural businesses access loan guarantees and grant funds to purchase renewable energy systems and to make energy efficiency improvements. The REAP program is only available in communities of less than 50-thousand people and is not available for residential use
During the presentation, Brunner said, “In the last couple of years we’ve seen more and more businesses use the REAP program to install a renewable energy systems.” He added, “We see businesses use the savings from energy efficiency upgrades to invest in other aspects of their operations.”
The Sedillo Hill Route 66 Travel Center received a $41,720 REAP grant to offset the cost of the installation of the new $166,878 solar power system. The system generates 80,504 kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity which is enough to pay for 67% of the electricity needed to run the store. This much electricity could provide enough power to run seven households annually.
For those rural businesses, ranching and farming operations interested in accessing information on the REAP program visit USDA’s new energy website at: www.usda.gov/energy or call the Rural Development State Office in Albuquerque at 505-761-4957.
Information from USDA