Program Profiles

Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
USDA Rural Development - Colorado Office
655 Parfet Street
Room E-100
Lakewood, CO 80215
720-544-2903
Note: there are also offices in Alamosa, Cortez, Craig, Delta, Las Animas, and Wray. Find contact info here.

As part of the Farm Bill, the REAP program (formerly known as Section 9006) provides grants and loans to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to make energy efficiency improvements, to purchase renewable energy systems, or to conduct feasibility studies or energy audits looking into such projects.

Here are some specifics:

Grants can fund up to 25% of an energy efficiency project’s total eligible costs, with a general minimum of $1,500 and a maximum of $250,000.
Guaranteed loans can fund up to 50% of a project’s total eligible costs, with a minimum of $5,000 and a maximum of $25 million.
Grants and loans can be combined to fund 50% of project costs, up to $10 million.
The energy efficiency funding is generally for retrofitting existing buildings rather than for new construction (unless a new building replaces an old and can get more energy savings than retrofitting the old).
The project must typically have energy savings of 20% to score well enough to receive funding.
If total projects costs are over $50,000, an energy audit is required.

For questions and assistance in applying, your USDA Rural Development state office is generally the best place to start.

More info is available here and here.

© 2003- Southwest Energy Efficiency Project
2260 Baseline Road, Suite 212, Boulder, CO 80302
(303) 447-0078 fax: (303) 786-8054 info@swenergy.org