Workshop to Help Producers and Rural Businesses Access Renewable Energy and Efficiency Funding
Participants Will Learn How to Apply for USDA’s REAP Grant Program
Knoxville, Tenn. — If you’re a farmer or rural business owner interested in improving energy use of your operation or developing a renewable energy system, take notice. UT Extension, USDA Rural Development, and the Tennessee Valley Authority among others, will conduct a workshop that may help you get funding.
The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) workshop will occur on February 9 from 1-4 p.m. (EST). This virtual workshop is designed to help producers and rural businesses (located in areas with a population of 50,000 or less) enhance the energy efficiency of their operations or develop biomass-based, wind- or solar energy-based systems. The focus of the workshop will be on helping producers and rural businesses develop their ideas for the REAP program, a competitive grant and loan program that helps producers and rural businesses improve energy efficiency or develop renewable energy systems.
Workshop participants will learn what’s needed to develop a successful application and how to get started in the grant application process. Presenters will explain how to complete the application and how proposals are reviewed and scored. A producer and a rural businessman who both previously received a REAP award will discuss lessons learned from their experience. Participants will also learn about the beneficial energy program offered by the Tennessee Valley Authority and by the state of Tennessee.
Register online for the Rural Energy for America Program workshop.
Sessions will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern /12 p.m. Central and end by 4 p.m. Eastern/3 p.m. Central. There is no fee to attend, but pre-registration is required.
More information about the workshop is available at https://tiny.utk.edu/REAPWorkshopInfo
Contact Sreedhar Upendram at 865-974-7410 by email to [email protected] or David W. Hughes at 865-974-7463 by email to [email protected] (both in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics) with questions.