Senator Murray Announces Nearly $6 Million for Rural Business Owners, Farmers and Ranchers in WA to Lower Their Energy Costs, Generate New Revenue

New funding from Inflation Reduction Act will help agriculture producers and rural small businesses lower their energy costs and generate new income by installing solar arrays and other renewable energy systems

Senator Murray: “This program is truly a win-win—we’re building new clean energy infrastructure, lowering energy costs, and putting more money back into the pockets of small business owners and local producers who power our rural communities.”

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced $5,996,625 in grants for farmers, agriculture producers, and rural small businesses in Washington state to make investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements that will lower their energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resilience of their operations. This funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act Senator Murray helped pass—the nation’s largest-ever investment in combatting the climate crisis—and will be administered through USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Loans and Grants.

“These grants are going to make a big difference for farmers, growers, and rural small businesses across Washington state, so I’m thrilled to see this federal funding start going out the door,” said Senator Murray. “This program is truly a win-win—we’re building new clean solar energy, lowering energy costs, and putting more money back into the pockets of small business owners and local producers who power our rural communities.”

“Creating opportunity for rural communities means investing in farmers, ranchers, and small businesses,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “A key pillar of Bidenomics, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is ensuring our producers and business owners are not only a part of the clean energy economy but are directly benefitting from it. These once-in-a-generation investments in renewable energy, like wind and solar, and energy efficient technologies create new markets and deliver real cost savings for our small and mid-sized agricultural operations and Main Street businesses, building and keeping wealth in rural America.”

Overall, USDA announced $266 million in grants and loans to rural agriculture producers and businesses across the country—a full list of grants awarded is available HERE.

Below is the full list of rural businesses and agricultural producers in Washington state receiving funding:

1. $69,200 for All Mimsy Were the Borogoves, a small business in Cathlamet, WA to purchase and install a 16-ton geothermal heat pump to power, heat, and cool organic greenhouses. This project will realize $13,703 per year in savings compared to the cost of fuel and will replace 73,529 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which is enough energy to power seven homes.       
2. $23,760 for Arndt Property Management in Langley, WA to purchase and install a 26.8 kilowatt (kW) solar array. This project annually will save $3,206 and replace 27,341 kWh, enough to power three homes.
3. $38,928 for Bayhead Farms in rural Eastsound, WA to purchase and install a 20,410 kW solar array. This project annually will save $2,254 and replace 57,772 kWh (35 percent), enough energy to power one home.
4. $393,408 for Borton and Sons Fruit Zillah Plant in rural Yakima County, WA to purchase and install a 599 kW solar array. The project annually will save $65,962 in energy costs and replace 824,528 kWh, enough energy to power 76 homes.      
5. $393,408 for Borton & Sons in rural Yakima, WA to assist a farmer in purchasing and installing a renewable energy system to their operations. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 599-kWh solar array. This project will realize $69,073 per year in savings and will replace 871,879kWh (9 percent energy savings) per year which is enough to power 871 homes.     
6. $29,600 for Broadfields Farm in rural Thurston County, WA to purchase and install a 3.89 kW solar array. This project annually will save $4,254, enough to power four homes.
7. $79,068 for Byron Automation in Naches, WA to purchase and install heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) improvements at Byron Automation LLC, a small business in Naches, Yakima County, Washington. This project annually will save $13,713 and replace 167,162 kWh (35 percent). 
8. $30,726 for Center Valley Orchard in Rural Jefferson County, WA to purchase and install a 31 kW solar photovoltaic (PV) system. The system annually will save $3,500 and replace 100 percent of current energy use, enough to power three homes.       
9. $249,000 for Country Morning Farms in Warden, WA to purchase and install a 300-kWh solar array at Country Morning Farms LLC in Warden, Grant County, Washington. This project annually will save $55,836 and replace 794,256 kWh, enough energy to power 74 homes.
10. $96,492 for Craft District in rural Thurston County, WA to assist a rural small business in purchasing and installing a renewable energy system to their operations. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 83.64kWh pv roof array. This project will realize $9,736 per year in savings and will replace 81,131 kWh per year which is enough to power seven homes.
11. $102,432 for DHT Corporation in rural Cowlitz County, WA to purchase and install a 106.7kWh solar array. This project will realize $6,065 per year in savings and will replace 104,027 kWh (40 percent energy savings) per year, which is enough to power 10 homes.
12. $11,542 for Empyrean Farm in Deming, WA to purchase and install a 17,10 kWh solar array. This project will realize $1,016 per year in savings and will replace 17,799 kWh solely based on business usage excluding residential use yielding a 116 percent energy savings per year, which is enough to power one home.
13. $731,677 for Farm Power Lynden in rural Custer, WA to purchase and install retrofit equipment for an anaerobic digester. This project annually will save $201,600 and generate 4,200,000 kWh, enough energy to power 392 homes.
14. $77,704 for Figgins Properties in rural Walla Walla, WA to purchase and install a 60.345 kW solar array. This project will realize $4,954.74 per year in savings and will replace 70,782 kWh per year, which is enough energy to power seven homes.          
15. $75,188 for Fourth Street Investors in rural Thurston County, WA to help purchase and install a 50 kW solar array. The project annually will save the business $8,015 and generate 64,571 kWh (25 percent), enough energy to power six homes.    
16. $5,831 for Free Horse Farm in rural San Juan County, WA to assist this small business in purchasing and installing a renewable energy system for their operations. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 8.5 kW solar array. This project will realize $574 per year in savings and will replace 5,553 kWh per year.     
17. $500,000 for Leo Gasseling and Sons, an agricultural producer in rural Yakima County, WA to help convert hop-drying kilns to be more energy-efficient. The project will replace inefficient diesel kilns with efficient propane kilns. The business has farmed within the Yakima Nation Tribal Reservation since 1973. This project annually will save $298,720 and replace 910,865 kWh, enough energy to power 88 homes in a year.
18. $160,052 for Leonetti Cellar in rural Walla Walla County, WA to purchase and install a 99,630 kW solar array. This project annually will save $12,334 and replace 154,808 kWh (83.88 percent), enough energy to power 12 homes.
19. $249,000 for Moxee Dairy in rural Yakima, WA to purchase and install a 300 kW photovoltaic solar array. This project will realize $66,040 per year in savings and will replace 816,561 kWh per year, which is enough energy to power 76 homes.          
20. $78,800 for Mutiny Bay Blues in Freeland, WA to purchase and install an 88.2 kW solar array at Mutiny Bay Blues LLC, a small business in Freeland, Washington. This project annually will save $9,561 and replace 91,600 kWh, enough energy to power at least 8.5 homes.          
21. $87,760 for Pautzke Bait Company in Ellensburg, WA to assist them in purchasing and installing a renewable energy system to their operations. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 100-kWh solar array. This project will realize $9,116 per year in savings and will replace 123,193 kWh (88 percent energy savings) per year which is enough to power 12 homes.
22. $259,748 for Portco Corporation, a small business in rural Yakima and Cowlitz Counties to purchase and install a renewable energy system to their operations. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 139.7 kW and 134.8 kW solar array. This project will realize $32,306 per year in savings and will replace 345,500 kWh (100 percent energy savings) per year which is enough to power 32 homes.     
23. $67,411 for Porto Corporation to make energy-efficient upgrades to their operation. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of LED lighting. This project will realize $12,178.01 per year in savings and will replace 2,365,841.06 kWh (5.22 percent energy savings) per year.    
24. $92,840 for Pullman Disposal Service in rural Whitman County, WA to purchase and install a renewable energy system, a 107 kWh solar array. This project will realize $18,703 per year in savings and will replace 140,134 kWh per year which is enough to power 13 homes.          
25. $109,327 for Rocinante Resources in Centralia, WA to purchase and install a 93.6 kW solar photovoltaic system at Rocinante Resources LLC, a small business in Centralia, Lewis County, Washington. The system will be installed at two sites. This project annually will save $8,000 and replace 90,000 kWh (100 percent), enough to power eight homes.
26. $78,449 for at Rootabaga Country in rural Skagit County, WA to help purchase and install a 79.7 kW solar array. This project annually will save $7,527 and generate 67,200 kWh (100 percent), enough energy to power seven homes.
27. $415,000 for Royal Dairy in rural Grant County, WA to purchase and install a 540 kWh solar array. This project will realize $56,000 per year in savings and will replace 1,330 kWh per year, which is enough energy to power 133 homes.
28. $979,000 for Sakata Seed America in rural Skagit County, WA to help a rural agricultural producer purchase and install a renewable-energy 1 megawatt (MW) solar array. This project annually will save $88,659 and replace 1,121,580 kWh, enough energy to power 105 homes.
29. $106,570 for Share Farm Inc. in rural Spokane County, WA to purchase and install a 48.84 kW solar array. This project annually will save $4,237 in energy costs and replace 63,240 kWh (108 percent), enough energy to power six homes.
30. $137,021 for Thompson Properties in Olympia, WA to help purchase and install a 135 kW solar photovoltaic array. This project annually will save $16,000 and replace 134,000 kWh, enough energy to power 11 residential homes.          
31. $10,931 for Upriver Discovery School in rural Skagit County, WA to assist this small business in purchasing and installing a renewable energy system to their operations. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 21.83 kWh solar array. This project will realize $1,619 per year in savings and will replace 7,858 kWh per year, which is enough to power one home.
32. $129,829 for Walla Walla Foundry Inc. in rural Walla Walla County, WA to purchase and install a 199.8 kW solar array. This project annually will save $24,802 in energy costs and replace 248,825 kWh, enough energy to power 23 homes.
33. $11,888 for Warm Valley Farm in rural San Juan County, WA to purchase and install a renewable energy system to their operations. Project funds will be used for the purchase and installation of a 12.8 kW solar array. This project will realize $1,075.00 per year in savings and will replace 11,804 kWh (77.25 percent energy savings) per year, which is enough to power one home.
34. $101,444 for Willow Bridge LLC, a memory care facility in Mount Vernon, WA to purchase and install a 135 kW solar array. This project will realize $15,996 per year in savings and will generate 145, kWh per year, which is enough to power 14 homes.

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