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Success Stories

Smith Island, Maryland

Investing in Wastewater Infrastructure is Key to Preserving Smith Island, Maryland

For the people living on Smith Island, the water matters. But it’s about more than the beautiful views of the Chesapeake Bay from the picturesque island ten miles from the mainland. The multi‐generational residents depend on the surrounding Chesapeake Bay for their livelihoods. For many, crabbing, oystering, and ecotourism are what puts dollars in their bank accounts, and food on their tables. In rural communities…
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Use the filters below to find additional stories about how our programs have helped rural communities across the nation.

Search Results: 37 Stories
Fulton Business Solar Panels

Going Solar in Fulton

Fulton is a small town in Missouri and the largest city in Callaway County, with a population of about 13,000 people. But for many rural towns, identifying and securing solar incentives can be a challenge. RD’s Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy Systems &… [Read More]
GrantsREAPRenewable EnergySolar Energy
Homegrown Hideaways is a lodging facility that went solar with a REAP grant

REAP Grant Helps Rural Farming Business Go Solar

Homegrown HideAways is more than just a farm. Located in the Appalachians of Berea, Kentucky, the 100-acre holler welcomes more than 2,000 guests per year and has more than a dozen listings on Airbnb. When Jessa Turner and her partner opened the center, they had plans of adding… [Read More]
REAPRenewable EnergySmall Business
Geoff Marietta solar panels

East Kentucky entrepreneur uses solar power to significantly cut power costs

Geoff Marietta found out just how expensive it can be to heat a 12,000-square-foot, 100-plus-year-old building. The building, located on the corner of 2nd and Main streets in downtown Corbin, Kentucky, sat vacant from 2005 until Marietta bought it in 2017. He immediately… [Read More]
EnergyEntrepreneurREAPRenewable Energy
Members of the Real Pickle Co-op stand on the roof of the building next to the new solar panels on a sunny day. Many are wearing coats and it looks chilly outside.

Solar: It’s a “Big Dill” for Real Pickles Cooperative

As USDA Rural Development (RD) highlights National Cooperative Month, one worker owned co-op in Massachusetts stands out as a model for sustainability, collaboration, and local food system resiliency. The saying goes “it’s not easy being green.” But for Real Pickles in… [Read More]
CooperativesEnergySustainable/Organic FoodsLocal FoodsLocal ProduceREAPRenewable EnergyRural Development
Cape Cod Coffee Shop owners

The Perks of Solar: Sustainability with Every Sip at Cape Cod Coffee

Many people have a passion for coffee. In fact, many of us cannot imagine starting our day without it. But for Pam and Jan Aggerbeck, owners of Cape Cod Coffee in Mashpee, Massachusetts, every cup of coffee is a part of their story of sustainability- And an opportunity to give… [Read More]
GrantsREAPRenewable EnergySolar EnergySustainable/Organic Foods
Two women sitting on a pink bench

Distillery is Making a Splash Mixing Community with Commerce

In the midst of the pandemic, while juggling work, civic leadership and homeschooling, friends Shawna Kelsey and Kristina Boyd decided to double down on their plans to launch Pink Bench Distilling in Troy, Montana.  In early 2020, they acquired a 100-year-old building from a… [Read More]
EnergyRenewable Energy
The Astoria Co-op installed rooftop solar panels to offset its energy use.

Rural Co-op Shines a Light on the Benefits of Solar Energy

Sustainability has been a fundamental tenant of the food cooperative movement since it began, and not only in terms of selling organic, sustainably-harvested food. Co-ops around the country are also turning to renewable energy. For the Astoria Co-op on the Oregon coast, that… [Read More]
CooperativesRenewable EnergySolar Energy

New Solar Array Helps Brewery Keep The Lights On

In rural Ord, Nebraska, Scratchtown Brewing Company, LLC is saving nearly 70 percent in energy costs thanks, in part, to a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) renewable energy grant awarded in 2019 to purchase a new 24-kilowatt rooftop solar array. These renewable energy… [Read More]
BusinessSmall BusinessEnergyRenewable EnergySolar EnergyInfrastructureRural Development
Bruce Hanna, owner of Hampton Inn and Suites Roseburg, visits solar panels recently installed on hotel roof.

Rural Hotel Reaps Benefits of Going Green

Guests at most hotels never give a second thought to the roof of the building. But at the Hampton Inn and Suites in the rural town of Roseburg, owner Bruce Hanna is encouraging his guests to learn about the significant environmental impacts being generated out of sight on the… [Read More]
REAPRenewable EnergySolar Energy
East Kentucky Power Cooperative generation map

East Kentucky Biomass Landfill Gas Project Expansion

In 2003, East Kentucky Power Cooperative became the first utility in Kentucky to generate its own renewable power when it began operating its first plant fueled by methane gas from landfills.  Today, East Kentucky has five landfill gas plants.  In 2015, RUS approved a loan which… [Read More]
ElectricEnergyRenewable Energy

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