(The Center Square) – Fifty Ohio companies will receive loans or grants worth anywhere from $6,000 to $500,000 as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s support of agriculture producers and rural small businesses.
The grants and loans are for investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements that will lower their energy costs, generate new income and strengthen the resilience of the company’s operation.
The funding is part of the Inflation Reduction Act and will give $266 million to 1,334 projects nationwide. Since December, the USDA has made up to $1.3 billion available in Rural Energy for America Program funding.
The program provides money to help eligible organizations invest in renewable energy infrastructure and zero-emission systems and make energy-efficiency improvements that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Biden administration calls it the largest single investment in rural electrification since the Rural Electrification Act of 1936.
“Creating opportunity for rural communities means investing in farmers, ranchers, and small businesses,” Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. “… These once-in-a-generation investments in renewable energy, like wind and solar, and energy-efficient technologies create new markets and deliver real cost savings for our small and mid-sized agricultural operations and Main Street businesses, building and keeping wealth in rural America.”
The largest Ohio grant will be $499,751 to Intermountain Electronics Inc. in South Point, Ohio, in the southern-most part of the state along the Ohio River. The company is expected to use the money to install a 399-kilowatt roof-mounted solar energy system to cover 100% of its energy consumption.
Martin Road Farm, a farming operation in North Benton, will also use $203,400 to install a solar energy system that is expected to offset all its energy costs.
