The Trump Administration, along with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director for Iowa Grant Menke, announced Monday that the USDA is making a $250,000 investment to help Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC, purchase and install equipment to improve energy efficiency and lower energy costs at its ethanol production facility. This funding award was made through the USDA Rural Energy for America (REAP) program.
?By investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency through the REAP program, USDA Rural Development helps boost the bottom lines of rural small businesses and agricultural producers,? said Menke. ?Under the leadership of President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Perdue, USDA is committed to partnering with rural small businesses and farmers to increase productivity and prosperity through lower energy costs, because we know that when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.?
Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC (SIRE), is a state-of-the-art dry-mill grain processing facility located in Council Bluffs, Iowa, that produces over 130 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol per year. In addition, SIRE produces over 365,000 tons of dried distillers grains annually, along with approximately 90,000 pounds per day of distillers corn oil.
SIRE will use a $250,000 grant for the purchase and installation of a Dryer Exhaust Energy Recovery (DEER) system to capture exhaust energy from the distillers grains dryers and use this energy to produce steam used in front-end operations. SIRE will realize $6,650,000 per year in savings and will replace 111,850,578 kWh per year. This project will save enough electricity to power 11,172 homes.
Background:
USDA is investing in this renewable energy and energy efficiency project in rural Iowa through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The purpose of this funding program is to assist farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses in developing renewable energy systems and making energy-efficiency improvements to their operations.
Interested parties should contact their USDA Rural Development Iowa office for more information about additional funding, application procedures, and eligibility details. More information is available at the following link: Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)
