Oregon Business & Cooperative Programs

~Oregon Rural Energy Portal~

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• Rural energy program overview
• Energy projects funded recently in Oregon

   2008 Farm Bill changes! 

• Farm Bill energy programs fact sheet

The 2008 Farm Bill authorized a number of new rural energy programs and revised some of RD's existing programs.  Details are still being worked out, and implementing regulations are under development.  Among the changes:

• The old §9006 grant and loan guarantee program is revised, expanded, and renamed "REAP" (Rural Energy for America Program).
• The VAPG program is reauthorized.
• A new Biorefinery Guaranteed Program is authorized.
• A new Advanced Biofuels Payment Program is authorized.

Details on these and other programs will be provided as information become available.

• REAP Grants - for equipment & real estate improvements
• REAP Guaranteed Loans - for equipment & real estate improvements

USDA Rural Development’s renewable energy programs support wind, solar, biomass, biofuels, geothermal, anaerobic digester, & micro-hydro projects.  
(Ocean energy projects may be eligible on a limited basis.)

• REAP Grants - for equipment & real estate improvements
• REAP Guaranteed Loans - for equipment & real estate improvements
   
• Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) - for planning or working capital for on-farm renewable energy projects & for biofuels
   
• 9008 Biomass Grants - for research & development

• Other funding sources for energy projects in Oregon - Oregon is blessed with a rich array of energy incentives; here are some of the main ones.
   

• Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE)

  • Business Energy Tax Credits (BETC)

  • State Energy Loan Program (SELP)

• Energy Trust - primarily for customers of PGE, Pacific Power, & NW Natural

• Bonneville Power Administration
   

• Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency: Opportunities for Oregon's Agricultural Producers - resource guide by Oregon Department of Agriculture

  • Oregon Department of Agriculture
     

• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - "Save Energy Save Money" web site for farmers & landowners

• US Department of Energy

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)
   

• Economics of a Solar PV Project in Rural Oregon - sample costs & benefits from a solar photovoltaic system

• Contacts

• Sign up for e-mail notices about RD rural energy programs