A handful of north and northeast Iowa ag-related operations will share in about $75,000 in federal grants to make investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements.
Theresa Greenfield, State Director in Iowa of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, says the goal is to lower their energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resilience of those operations.
Among the grants: $20,000 to Rory Reicks to install a new grain dryer at his grain production farm operation near Lawler; $10,000 to Gerald Keune, a grain and livestock operator, to install an 18-kilowatt solar array in rural Cresco; $14,000 to Dale T. McCarthy, owner of a swine farming operation in McIntire in Mitchell County to install a 15-kilowatt solar array; $9,000 to LDB Properties LLC, a commercial real estate business in Waukon, to install an eight-kilowatt solar array; and $20,000 to Cooper’s Cedar Crest Inc., a beef cattle farm in Clear Lake, to install a 20-kilowatt solar array. Â
A total of over $400,000 in grants were awarded in the state.
*You can read more on the area projects below:
$20,000 to Cooper’s Cedar Crest Inc., a beef cattle farm in Clear Lake, to install a 20-kilowatt solar array. This project is expected to save $3,445 per year. The project will replace 20,269 kilowatt hours (100 percent of business energy usage) per year, which is enough electricity to power two homes.
$14,400 is going to Dale T. McCarthy, owner of a swine farming operation in McIntire to install a 15-kilowatt solar array. This project is expected to save $2,686.73 per year. The project will replace 24,663 kilowatt hours (50 percent of the farm business energy usage) per year which is enough to power two homes.
$10127 is going to Gerald Keune, a grain and livestock operator, to install an 18-kilowatt solar array in rural Cresco. This project will realize $1,608 per year in savings and will replace 15,668 kilowatt hours per year (100 percent of previous business use), which is enough electricity to power two homes.
$20,000 is going to Rory Reicks to install a new grain dryer at his grain production farm operation near Lawler. This project will realize $8,955 per year in savings and will replace 125,744 kilowatt hours per year (59 percent of previous business use), which is enough energy to power 11 homes.
$9,039 is going to LDB Properties LLC a commercial real estate business in Waukon, to install an 8-kilowatt solar array. This project is expected to save $1,454 per year. It will replace 7,407 kilowatt hours per year (100 percent of the business energy usage), which is enough electricity to power one home.
