The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Oct. 3 announced the allocation of $104 million in loans and grants to over 300 clean energy projects under its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Among the recipients are three ethanol plants set to benefit from the funding.
As per the report, Iowa-based Absolute Energy LLC received a $621,796 grant to install a slurry heating and reduced backset system at its ethanol plant. The project aims to prevent bottlenecks at the facility’s evaporators and is expected to produce 37.36 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually, worth more than $3.17 million. This amount of energy is enough to power approximately 3,447 homes, according to the USDA.
Big River Resources Galva LLC, located in Illinois, was awarded $500,000 to purchase and install a combined-heat-and-power (CHP) system at its dry-mill ethanol plant. This project is projected to save the facility more than $5.6 million annually and will replace 96.12 million kWh per year—roughly 9% of the plant’s total energy needs, enough to power 8,869 homes.
In South Dakota, Aberdeen Energy LLC secured a $1 million grant to support an ethanol production expansion system. The project is expected to generate 178.9 million kWh of electricity annually, enough to power 15,508 homes.
A complete list of the projects funded under the REAP program is available on the USDA’s website.
