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Success Stories

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
Chad Mortensen outside his variety store

Energy Efficiency Improvements Increase Longevity of Small Business

Chad Mortensen is a third-generation owner and operator of Marion’s Variety shop and restaurant in Roosevelt, Utah. Chad’s great aunt Marion Mortensen opened the business in 1933 after emigrating from Denmark. Over a span of 36 years Marion changed locations along the main road… [Read More]
Thermal image of a home

Energy Efficiency Loan – Vermont Energy Investment Corporation

The Vermont legislature created an Energy Efficiency Utility named Efficiency Vermont as a full-service utility providing those services to all ratepayers.  Under this structure, utility ratepayers can reduce their energy use by investing in energy improvements for their homes… [Read More]

Milk Trucks Run on Biofuel Generated from Dairy Operation's Waste

Milk Trucks Run on Biofuel Generated from Dairy Operation’s Waste Recognizing the potential for environmental and economic benefits through renewable energy, Fair Oaks Farms in Fair Oaks, Indiana, is producing more than milk from its 11,000 dairy cows. The dairy’s anaerobic… [Read More]
Malcolm Farms

Moorefield Poultry Farm Invests in Solar Power

 The Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia has in recent years established a vibrant poultry industry. The typical poultry farmer raises chickens from a young age and to do so, requires a significant amount of heating and energy. Energy costs for a poultry farmer can greatly impact… [Read More]
Solar Panel array

North Carolina Leads in Solar Projects

The RUS Electric Program fosters sustainable and vibrant rural communities by investing in expanding and modernizing the electric infrastructure and revitalizing local economic development by unleashing the benefits of renewable resources and energy efficiency.  In FY 2015, the… [Read More]
Photo: USDA Rural Business and Cooperatives Administrator Lillian Salerno and Three Rivers Energy employee Erik Chaffer.

Resuscitated biorefinery breathes new life into Ohio town

Erik Chaffer considers himself an optimist. Still, he found himself feeling pretty low as he watched the Great Recession knock the legs out from under the rural Ohio ethanol plant he helped manage. “Everything was pretty good until July 2008. It was just a ‘perfect storm’ type… [Read More]

RUS Electric Program Finances Energy Efficiency and Conservation Program Loans

  The RUS Electric Program recently established a loan program to help electric cooperatives reach out to consumers and businesses. In a News Release dated October 23, 2014, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA had funded its first two loans under the new Energy… [Read More]
R.C. Thomas Hydroelectric Station

RUS Electric Program Finances Hydroelectric Power

Hydroelectric power RUS Electric Program approved $73 million in loan funds to finance ETEC’s R. C. Thomas Hydroelectric Station (R.C. Thomas Station), formally known as the Lake Livingston Hydro-electric Station, located near the City of Lake Livingston in Polk County, Texas.… [Read More]
Woodville Renewable Energy Woodville, Texas

RUS Electric Program Finances Woody Biomass Power

Biomass RUS Electric Program partnered with borrower, East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc. (ETEC) in order to fund the recently completed Woodville Woody Biomass Project located near Woodville Texas. Woodville is a 49.9 MW carbon neutral renewable energy facility that will burn… [Read More]
Chocowinity Solar Project

RUS Electric Program Funds Largest USDA Solar Project to Date

RUS Electric Program has provided loan funds in the amount of $20 million for a renewable energy solar project, which is USDA’s largest solar project to date. The loan to Montgomery Solar, LLC, will help build a 20 megawatt Solar Farm located in Briscoe, NC. “It will occupy… [Read More]