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Success Stories

A mother and three daughters pose around a dining room table. There are lace curtains and blue wall in the background and some dishes on the table in the foreground.

“This is Home” – A Family Finds Their Forever Home in Calais, Maine

One of the first rooms Heather Gagne and her daughters began redecorating in their new home is the dining room, shown in the top photo. They have been busy repainting and making other updates. Raising a family in coastal Machias, Maine may sound lovely, but for Heather Gagne recent years proved stressful. There were few housing options in their Downeast community, and Heather was glad to find a rental home to…
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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: 31 Stories
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… [Read More]
ElectricRenewable EnergySolar Energy
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]
ElectricEnergyRenewable EnergySolar Energy

Solar Energy Powers Year-Round Greens Production

Baby Greens, a farm located in Kingston, Rhode Island, is putting a convenient spin on the term “farm to table.” The chemical-free organic farm produces a mixture of salad greens that owner Jeffery Kamminga hand delivers to local homes and businesses year round. In August of… [Read More]
REAPSolar Energy
solar panels in Olympia

Solar Power Reduces Vender Energy Costs at Olympia Farmers Market

The Farmers Market in Washington State’s Capital City of Olympia attracts some 500,000 visitors during its nine-month run and generates about $5 million in sales. As the City of Olympia’s liaison to the Farmers Market, the Parks, Arts and Recreation Department was approached by… [Read More]
Renewable EnergySolar Energy
Solar Panel array

TPI Solar Projects

Today’s Power Inc. (TPI), is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arkansas Cooperative, Inc. (AECI).  AECI is a utility service company owned by all 17 electric cooperatives in Arkansas.  TPI was created to develop renewable energy.  TPI focuses on selling, installing,… [Read More]
ElectricRenewable EnergySolar Energy

USDA RD Assists White Farms with Solar Array Purchase

White Farms, a family-owned general partnership that operates a grain farming business in rural Carroll County of McKenzie, Tenn., was interested in producing electricity from solar as a renewable energy source for its farming operation. With the desire to become a “greener”… [Read More]
Solar Energy
A bride holds a floral arrangement made by 3 Porch Farm, an fusion of artistic expression and natural rhythms

Walking on Sunshine at 3 Porch Farm

Tucked away in Comer, Georgia is 3 Porch Farm, a sustainably-grown flower and fruit farm owned and managed by Steve and Mandy O’Shea. They specialize in delighting locals at the farmers markets in Atlanta and Marietta and Athens, Georgia with a variety of value-added products.… [Read More]
BiodieselEnergySolar EnergySustainable/Organic Foods
USOrdnancerobotfundedbyREAP

Northern Nevada Manufacturer Uses REAP to Overhaul Assembly Line, Saves Money on Automation and LED Lights

U.S. Ordnance, a Northern Nevada weapons manufacturing plant, recently overhauled its assembly line and energy systems with help from staff with Nevada Industry Excellence (NVIE) and USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Originally based out of California, owner-… [Read More]
EnergyRenewable EnergySolar Energy
Rooftop Solar Unit Located on Top of the Bluffs Business Center Building.

Sarchet Ventures REAPing the Benefits of Rooftop Solar

The Bluffs Business Center in Scottsbluff, Neb. is a historical trademark in the downtown area located on Broadway. Sarchet Ventures owns and operates the Center. Mike Sarchet, managing partner of Sarchet Ventures, has a history of more than 30 years as an environmental educator… [Read More]
Solar Energy
Photo: A new solar energy production facility in the small, unincorporated community of Dairy, Oregon, is benefiting the community and a local farm.

Shining a Light on Solar Energy Benefits for Rural Farm, Community

A farm in the very small, rural community of Dairy in southern Oregon had a parcel of high elevation land that was hardly worth the effort to plant. The  low soil quality and poor irrigation made the land suitable for hay production and nothing else. More often, the field… [Read More]
Renewable EnergySolar Energy

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