Tuesday, July 19, 2011
ELPC and the Environmental and Energy Study Institute brought together national and regional experts on agriculture and clean energy development to report from the field on the importance of the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and other parts of the Farm Bill Energy Title. Listen to the briefing.
Speakers included:
- Bruce Knight, Dairy Advisor for Strategic Conservation Solutions, LLC and former Chief of Natural Resources Conservation Service at the USDA under President Bush
- Bennie Hutchins, Principal, Ag Energy Resources, Mississippi
- Bill Midcap, Farmer and Rural Development Specialist, Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Colorado
- Andy Olsen, ELPC Senior Policy Advocate
REAP incentivizes a broad range of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies for all agricultural sectors across the country. The program has helped thousands of rural producers and businesses slash energy costs and earn new income with energy efficiency and renewable energy. Dairy and poultry producers, rural electric cooperatives, and other rural producers and small businesses throughout the country are successfully using REAP. The Energy Title is helping to accelerate advanced biofuels and bioproducts production, chiefly through the Biorefinery Assistance Program and the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).
To learn more, visit ELPC’s dedicated website, FarmEnergy.org.
You can also listen to today’s briefing on BarnMedia.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
On July 7, the US Senate Committee on Appropriations voted to boost funding for farm energy programs that will create more clean energy and new income for rural Americans.
The committee voted to increase fiscal year 2010 funding for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) from $60 million to $128 million. The REAP program helps farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses build their own clean energy projects.
The committee also voted to increase funding for the Biorefinery Assistance program, by $17 million.
Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl, Chair of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, was a key supporter of the funding increase. “Our nation faces historic challenges for our economy, our environment and our energy security,” Kohl said. “Farmers in Wisconsin and across the nation have much at stake and want to be part of the solution. These funds will help lead the way toward greener energy independence.”
Read ELPC’s press release here
Learn more about farm energy programs at FarmEnergy.org
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Monday, October 6, 2008
Argus Leader reporter Thom Gabrukiewicz pointed to rising energy concerns around, “biofuels, wind, coal, solar technology and the prospect of the first new oil refinery to be built in the United States in more than 30 years” as attracting national and regional groups like ELPC to work in the state.
“South Dakota has a tremendous opportunity to create clean energy on its farms and ranches that is good for the environment,” said Howard Learner, president and executive director with the Environmental Law & Policy Center, which has an office in Sioux Falls. “We’re here to help make a difference in South Dakota.”
Learner said the attention his group is placing on South Dakota is not fleeting. “We’re not dropping in for a year, then dropping out,” he said. “We’re here for the long term.”
Read the full article.
