{"id":818,"date":"2008-10-09T17:54:59","date_gmt":"2008-10-09T21:54:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sacdev.org\/?page_id=818"},"modified":"2020-01-03T11:58:55","modified_gmt":"2020-01-03T16:58:55","slug":"renewable-energy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/publications\/grassrootsguide\/renewable-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Renewable Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"484\" src=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6235037564_d76333b804_o-1024x484.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-52806\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6235037564_d76333b804_o-1024x484.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6235037564_d76333b804_o-300x142.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6235037564_d76333b804_o-768x363.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption>Photo credit: USDA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-heading\">Renewable energy projects on farms are a win-win for farmers and the environment.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Farmers and ranchers don\u2019t always just produce food to eat \u2013 many are also developing innovative renewable energy projects on their land. Energy saving measures and energy producing facilities that use wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable sources can decrease energy costs, provide additional income for farmers, ranchers and rural businesses.&nbsp;Increased use of renewable energy also reduces U.S. dependence on foreign energy sources and as such, can help farmers mitigate the impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For that to happen, incentives and programs should be tailored so that emerging renewable energy industries benefit family farmers and rural communities while safeguarding soil, water, and biodiversity, and prioritizing energy efficiency and conservation. The 2018 Farm Bill reauthorizes important renewable energy programs including the Rural Energy for America Program and the Biomass Crop Assistance Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This section of our guide provides an overview of the key federal programs focused on grants and loans for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy systems on working lands like farms and ranches.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Renewable energy projects on farms are a win-win for farmers and the environment. Farmers and ranchers don\u2019t always just produce food to eat \u2013 many are also developing innovative renewable energy projects on their land. Energy saving measures and energy producing facilities that use wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable sources can decrease energy costs, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52806,"parent":754,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-818","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"entry","7":"clb-has-post-thumbnail"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Renewable Energy - National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/publications\/grassrootsguide\/renewable-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Renewable Energy - National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Renewable energy projects on farms are a win-win for farmers and the environment. Farmers and ranchers don\u2019t always just produce food to eat \u2013 many are also developing innovative renewable energy projects on their land. Energy saving measures and energy producing facilities that use wind, solar, biomass, and other renewable sources can decrease energy costs, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/publications\/grassrootsguide\/renewable-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sustainableag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-03T16:58:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sustainableagriculture.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6235037564_d76333b804_o.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3941\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1861\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sustainableag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/publications\\\/grassrootsguide\\\/renewable-energy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/publications\\\/grassrootsguide\\\/renewable-energy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Renewable Energy - National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/publications\\\/grassrootsguide\\\/renewable-energy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/publications\\\/grassrootsguide\\\/renewable-energy\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/6235037564_d76333b804_o.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-10-09T21:54:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-03T16:58:55+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/publications\\\/grassrootsguide\\\/renewable-energy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/publications\\\/grassrootsguide\\\/renewable-energy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/publications\\\/grassrootsguide\\\/renewable-energy\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/6235037564_d76333b804_o.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sustainableagriculture.net\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/6235037564_d76333b804_o.jpg\",\"width\":3941,\"height\":1861,\"caption\":\"Solar array at Cooper Vineyards in Louisa, VA the first winery on the East Coast and the second in the country to be awarded the fourth and highest, Platinum certification by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), May 4, 2011. From a Virginia Wine Board Marketing Office press release, \u201cThe process of building a LEED platinum certified building was initially more expensive and arduous than co-owners, Jacque Hogge, MD and Geoffrey Cooper, MD expected, but they were able to get financial assistance from the United States Department of Agriculture. \u201cKnow that there are grants available to help with the costs of sustainable building projects,\u201d Hogge advises to other potential green wineries. Cooper Vineyards received 2 of the 3 USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development (RD) Rural Energy Financing program) grants awarded in Virginia in 2010 to help with the expenses of their construction.\u201d Rural Energy Financing program focuses on loan guarantees, loans and grants to agricultural producers, businesses, cooperatives and rural residents for renewable energy systems and to make energy efficiency improvements. The tasting room and building collects rainwater from the roof; uses low flow water fixtures to reduce usage by 40%; utilizes structurally insulated panels for the roof and walls; heats and cools the entire building using a geothermal system that includes pipes that are embedded in the parking lot; low-voltage LED lighting with daylight and occupancy sensors provide ample light when it is needed; a solar panel array provides more than 15% of the energy needs for the building, and much of the construction materials are from local and recycled material sources. For more information about USDA please go to www.usda.gov, Rural Development and Rural Energy Financing. 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