By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

THE Department of Agriculture announced yesterday the availability of grants and loans for rural businesses or agricultural producers seeking to produce renewable energy or make energy-saving improvements to their facilities or farms.
“This program can make a big difference to rural small businesses or producers looking to finance a renewable energy system or make energy saving improvements to their facility or equipment,” USDA Rural Development state director Lorraine P. Shin said.
The deadline for filing grant applications is May 18.
The USDA said grants can be used to cover up to 25 percent of a project cost, and can be combined with the guaranteed loan program to further lower the cost of a variety of energy projects.
Minimum total project costs to qualify for grants are $6,000 for energy efficiency improvements and $10,000 for new renewable energy projects. The maximum energy efficiency grant is $250,000, and $500,000 for renewable energy.
Loan seekers have until July 2 to apply for the program covered by fiscal year 2007 funding.
The USDA said guaranteed loans can be issued for up to 50 percent of the project costs. Minimum project cost to qualify for a guaranteed loan is $10,000 for both energy efficiency and renewable projects. The maximum guaranteed loan is $10 million. A combination grant and guaranteed loan can be requested for up to 50 percent of eligible project costs.
The USDA said $176.5 million in loan guarantees and $11.4 million in grants are available for the current fiscal year.
Fifty percent of the grant funding is being reserved for applications that are a combination of guaranteed loan and grant, the USDA stated in a press release.
The program applies to such projects as energy efficiency improvement and renewable system installation including undertakings such as retrofitting existing processing operations, or replacing lighting/refrigeration/electric motors with more efficient equipment.
Shin said the grant program is competitive nationwide, but the USDA has been able to get a good percentage of applications funded. Hawaii, for example, has been awarded $197,000 for six solar projects, out of 15 applications submitted, since the program started in 2002.
Shin said the USDA intends to increase the level of funding for this year.
“Also, we are putting more emphasis on funding energy efficiency projects for Hawaii,” she said.