Rhode Island awards agricultural energy grants
On Monday, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, along with the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources (OER) and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) announced the state had awarded $59,250 in green energy grants for farmers.
The grants, funded through the Rhode Island Agricultural Energy Grant Program, will support project that help farmers move to greener agricultural operations, saving energy and money, officials said.
“Our farmers in Rhode Island play an essential role in providing the state with fresh, locally sourced products,” McKee said. “We must continue to support our local farmers and provide them the resources needed for implementing clean energy projects. I am very happy to announce the next round of grant winners for the Agricultural Energy Grant program. These farms have converted to energy efficient equipment that will help lower their energy bills and reduce their carbon footprint.”
Grants included $20,000 for Hattoy’s Nursery and Garden Center in Coventry, RI for a 1353 kW rooftop solar project to offset 100 percent of the farm and landscaping company’s energy consumption; $20,000 for Walnut and Willow Farm in Lincoln, RI for a 6.84 kW rooftop solar project to offset 93 percent of the farm’s total energy consumption; and %19,250 for Wicked Tiny Farms in Narragansett, RI to install a mini-split and multi-zone non-ducted heat pump system that will save an estimated 200 gallons of oil used by the farm.
Funding for the energy grant program is made possible through the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the nation’s first mandatory, market-based cap, and trade program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the power sector.
“DEM congratulates the grant recipients and all partners in Rhode Island’s agricultural and food system sectors for their commitment to sustainability by bringing clean, reliable, and affordable renewable energy to their farms and small agriculture-related businesses,” said DEM Director Terry Gray. “These grants help expand the toolbox for farming families and nurseries to grow their businesses while improving sustainability and resilience throughout the food system. Every investment like this will help Rhode Island meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets set out in the Act on Climate.”
