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USDA Helps Rural West Virginia Farmers and Business Owners Lower Energy Costs and Create New Economic Opportunities

Name
Andrew Stacy
Email
andrew.stacy@usda.gov
Phone
304-860-8435
Release Date

Investments are part of 27 projects announced in the Northeast Region

HARPERS FERRY, W.Va., May 9, 2023 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development West Virginia State Director Ryan Thorn joined Rural Business-Cooperative Service Administrator Betsy Dirksen Londrigan to announce that Rural Development is investing $2.9 million to help lower energy costs and generate income for farmers and small business owners across West Virginia. The announcement comes on the heels of Small Business Week and in celebration of Small Business Day on May 10.

“The twenty investments announced today will save these West Virginia farmers and rural small businesses more than $219,000 annually on their utility bills,” said Thorn. “The Biden Administration has once again shown its commitment to help rural West Virginia by building the economy and creating new opportunities from the bottom-up and middle-out. Small businesses are the backbone of our local economies and investing in them helps bolster their bottom lines and allows them to reinvest back in their businesses, and their communities.” (Ryan Thorn | May 9 | 256 Kbps)

The investments are made available through the Rural Energy for America Program, with funding made possible by the landmark Inflation Reduction Act. In total, Rural Development is investing $2,858,095 in 20 projects across West Virginia.

“We would like to thank the USDA for awarding us this grant,” said Robert Hartong, President of W.A. Wilson and Sons, a REAP awardee in Ohio County. “These funds will go toward our new, state of the art, glass tempering furnace, which will allow us to temper the most advanced Low Emissivity glass for fabrication into insulating units. The energy savings from these Low E insulating units will be extremely beneficial to new construction projects throughout our trading territory. WA Wilson is very proud to be a West Virginia company and the monies from the grant will allow our company to continue to grow and provide quality jobs to hard-working West Virginian’s.”

Braxton County

  • Bonazzo & Suesli Real Estate will use a $18,615 REAP grant to purchase and install a 10.95 kilowatt (kW) solar array. This project will generate 12,001 kilowatt hours (kWh) annually, which is enough electricity to power one home. This project will realize $1,414 in savings annually.

Brooke County

  • Three Springs Industrial Park will use a $126,000 REAP grant to purchase and install a 288 kW array. Three Springs Crossing LLC is a business in Brooke County. This project will realize $2,080 per year in savings and will replace 341,000 kWh (100 percent) per year, which is enough to power 28 homes.

Cabell County

  • Moses Automotive will use a $349,398 REAP grant to purchase and install a 283.2 kW solar array at Moses Automotive, Inc., which operates the Moses Honda VW Dealership in Cabell County. This project will generate 316,901 kWh annually (63%), which is enough electricity to 26 power homes. This project will realize $30,076 a year in savings.
     
  • Tri-Data will use a $91,305 REAP grant to purchase and install a 77.76 kW solar array. Tri-Data Inc. is a document management business in Cabell County. This project will generate 91,912 kWh annually, which is enough electricity to power seven homes. This project will realize $6,568 in savings annually.
     
  • Workingman’s Family Store will use a $36,905 REAP grant to purchase and install a 32.81 kW solar array. Workingman's Family Store LLC is a clothing store in Cabell County, West Virginia. This project will generate 39,956 kWh annually, which is enough electricity to power three homes. This project will realize $5,283 in savings annually.

Hardy County

  • Old Fields Storage will use a $15,031 REAP grant to purchase and install a 9-kilowatt array. Old Fields Storage is a storage facility in Hardy County, West Virginia. This project will realize $1,220 per year in savings and will replace 11,098 kWh (102 percent) per year, which is enough to power one home.

Jefferson County

  • Sustainable Solutions will use a $2,544 REAP grant to install fiberglass insulation. Sustainable Solutions is an ecological service, prescribed fire solutions, conservation contracting and training business in Jefferson County, West Virginia. This project will realize $322 a year in savings and will save 2780 kWh annually.

Marion County

  • Allpro will use a $90,770 REAP grant to purchase and install a 58.4 kW solar array. AllPro is a home improvement business in Marion County. This project will generate 63,130 kWh annually, which is enough electricity to power five homes. This project will realize $4,332.44 in savings annually.

Monongalia County

  • Rhodes Enterprises will use a $65,695 REAP grant to purchase and install a 62.4 kW solar array at O.B. Fawley Music Co. Rhodes Enterprises LLC is a business in Monongalia County. This project will generate 62,837 kWh annually, which is enough to power five homes. This project will realize $4,285 in savings annually.

Morgan County

  • Mas Ventures WV will use a $14,103 REAP grant to purchase and install a 10.56 kW solar array at MAS Ventures WV LLC, a vacation rental business on a Paw Paw farm in Morgan County. This project will realize $602 per year in savings and will replace 12,672 kWh (72 percent) per year, which is enough electricity to power one home.

Nicholas County

  • Laurel Creek Hardwoods will use a $29,931 REAP grant to purchase and install energy-efficient equipment, including a drive belt replacement, capacitor bank, LED lights, and a head saw motor replacement. Laurel Creek Hardwoods Inc. is a lumber processing facility in Nicholas County, West Virginia. This project will realize $6,799 savings per year and will save 30,889 kWh annually, which is enough energy to power three homes.

Ohio County

  • W.A. Wilson & Sons will use a $500,000 REAP grant to purchase and install a glass tempering furnace. W.A. Wilson and Sons Inc. is a family-owned, full-line glass and aluminum fabricator and distribution company. This project will realize $12,722.59 per year in savings and will save 128,641 kWh per year, which is enough energy to power 10 homes.

Pendleton County

  • Conrad Farms will use a $64,204 REAP grant to purchase and install more energy-efficient grain drying and storage equipment and improved moisture and temperature regulation. Conrad Farms is a poultry farm in Pendleton County. This project will realize $3,727 in savings annually.

Pocahontas County

  • Mountain Linen Service will use a $489,717 REAP to purchase energy-efficient washing equipment. Mountain Linen Service LLC is a laundry business. This project will realize $55,236 a year in savings and will save 939,736 kWh annually, which is enough energy to power 78 homes.

Preston County

  • Debra Hemler will use a $21,273 REAP grant to purchase and install a 14 kW solar array. Debra Hemler is the sole cattle farm proprietor of Terra Petra Farm in Preston County, West Virginia. This project will realize $1,656 per year in savings and will replace 13,801 kilowatt hours (kWh) (92 percent) per year, which is enough to power one home.
     
  • Roger Nieman will use a $15,276 REAP grant to purchase and install a 13 kW solar array. Roger Nieman is the sole cattle farm proprietor of Nieman's Rocky Lanes Farm in Preston County, West Virginia. This project will realize $1,586 per year in savings and will replace 13,219 kWh (114 percent) per year, which is enough to power one home.

Tucker County

  • Valley Scenic View will use a $86,890 REAP grant to purchase and install a 72.27 kW solar array. Valley Scenic View offers cabin rentals in Tucker County, West Virginia. This project will generate 76,606 kWh annually, which is enough electricity to power six homes. This project will realize $9,192 in savings annually.

Wayne County

  • Tolliver Enterprises will use a $259,052 REAP grant to purchase and install a 209.76 kW solar array at its subsidiary Martin Steel in Wayne County. This project will save the business $17,856 per year and will generate 259,893 kWh annually, which is enough to power 21 homes.

Wood County

  • Solar Energy Solutions II will use a $100,000 REAP Loan and $200,000 REAP Grant to purchase and install a 253 kW solar array at the Polymer Zone facility in Davisville. Solar Energy Solutions is a solar company in Wood County. This project will generate 277,312 kWh annually, which is enough electricity to power 23 homes.
     
  • Solar Energy Solutions III will use a $100,000 REAP Loan and $200,000 REAP Grant to purchase and install a 250 kW solar array at Williamstown Elementary School in Wood County. This project will generate 270,535 kWh annually, which is enough electricity to power 25 homes. This project will realize $15,325.92 in savings annually.

The funding announced today advances President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, to grow the American economy from the middle-out and bottom up – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to driving over $500 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating good-paying jobs that will make our communities more resilient.   

Today’s investment is part of a larger $23.4 million announcement which includes projects in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. A full list of projects from today’s announcement is available online.

Rural Development continues to accept applications and will hold funding competitions quarterly through Sept. 30, 2024.

Background: Inflation Reduction Act

As a core pillar of Bidenomics and the President’s Investing in America agenda, the Inflation Reduction Act makes the largest investment in climate action in history and is lowering energy costs, bringing opportunity to communities across America and tackling the climate crisis through investments in agriculture, forest restoration, and rural communities.

The Biden Administration championed the Inflation Reduction Act to help provide new funding and unprecedented incentives to expand clean energy, transform rural power production, create jobs and spur economic growth. It is the largest single investment in rural electrification since the Rural Electrification Act of 1936.

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, the Administration is delivering on its promise to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across America.

It provides funding to USDA Rural Development 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.

It will boost the long-term resiliency, reliability and affordability of rural electric systems. It will help families save money on utility bills, and it will expand rural opportunities in the clean-energy economy.

For more information on the Inflation Reduction Act, visit: https://www.rd.usda.gov/inflation-reduction-act.

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities, create jobs and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural, tribal and high-poverty areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov/wv.

To subscribe to USDA Rural Development updates in West Virginia, visit our GovDelivery subscriber page

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