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Show PANGUITCII • PANGUITCHLAKI- • HATCH • BRYCE • TROPIC • ANTIMONY • HFARIF.VH.LE • CANNONYILLE • ESCALWIE • BOULDER 'DUCK CREEK Thursday, April 12, 2007 • Issue # 107 USDA FUNDING FOR ENERGY PROJECTS AVAILABLE NOW John Cox, State Director of Utah Rural Development agency in Utah, announced that grants and guaranteed loans are available to help rural businesses or agricultural producers looking to produce renewable energy or make energy-saving improvements to their facilities or farms. The Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program was created as part of the 2002 Farm Bill to assist farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses develop renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements to their operations. Grant only applications can be submitted at any time, but the 2007 deadline is May 18. Applications for guaranteed loans and a combination grant and guaranteed loan can be submitted at any time, but must be received by July 2 to be considered for 2007 funding. "This program can make a big difference to rural small businesses or farmers looking to finance a re- WEATHER Rein / ' Snow Showers 47V27* Apr 13 Sunny S4V27* 10% £flt Apr 14 Partly ' Cloudy Apr 15 • Few Showers 55*730* 30% asm • Few Showers 57V31' Thu Apr 12 Apr 16 r !5S°F _ Partly *• —3 Cloudy 65V3V ergy-efficient upgrade that these funds could help finance. Grants from Rural Development can cover up to 25% of the project costs. Minimum total project costs to qualify for grants are $6,000 for energy efficiency improvements and $10,000 for new renewable energy projects. The maximum energy efficiency grant is $250,000; $500,000 for renewable energy. Guaranteed loans can be issued for up to 50% of the project costs. A minimum project cost to qualify for a guaranteed loan is $ 10,000 for both energy efficiency and renewable projects. The maximum guaranteed loan is $10 million. A combination grant and guaranteed loan can be requested for up to 50% of eligible project costs. Rural Development has information Costs incurred before submitting an application for both grants and loan guarantees aren't eligible. In addition, funds are not available for residential use. Information, applications, forms, and other tools regarding the energy program can be found at htt&ll www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/farmbill/ index.html. Contact Richard Carrig, USDA Rural Development State Office in Salt Lake City, Utah at 801524-4328 with questions. Richard may also be reached by email at richard.carrigfgjut.usda.gov Utah State University Extension presented a half-day Garfield County Business Resources Conference at Ruby's Inn Thursday, March 29,2007. The luncheon speaker was Leigh von der Esch, director of the Utah Office of Tourism which was followed by General Business and Tourism workshops. The day concluded with a panel discussion. Some great networking occurred in addition to the information gleaned from the speakers by the almost sixty participants who attended. A local committee for the conference was* chaired by SuzAnne Jorgensen, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent. Presenters werefromboth local and statewide agencies: Fred Jaeger, Garfield Business Development Center; Marsha Holland, Garfield County Volunteer Center; Les Prall, Governor's Office of Economic Development; Scott Boyer/Mike Whitsides, Utah State University Extension Marketing; Craig Isom, Small Business Development Center, SUU; Beverly Evans, GOED and MainStreet; Cheryl Church, Panguitch Main Street; Karen Biers, Utah State University Extension; Linda Gillmor, Millard County Economic Development. Co-Sponsors and donors included Utah State University Garfield County Extension, Governor's Office of Economic Development, Garfield County, Five County Association of Governments, Garfield County Travel Council, City of Panguitch, Cowboy Collectibles, Cowboy Smokehouse, Ruby's Inn, Escalante Outfitters, and Serenidad Gallery. Special thanks to the presenters, co-sponsors and donors who helped make the conference a success! Watch for more business classes in May. USU Extension is an equal opportunity, affirmative action educator and employer. Fun T^lqcn Tq Ralnv p«y '""';'j 57° F |G2°F Apr 17 Apr IB newable energy system or make energy saving improvements to their facility or equipment," says John Cox. "I encourage interested business owners and farmers to contact us at USDA Rural Development to learn more." Grants cover up to 25% of cost. Grants can be used to cover up to 25% of a project cost, and can be combined with the guaranteed loan program to further lower the cost of a variety of energy projects. What types of projects are eligible? Eligible projects fall into two categories. One use of the program is to finance the installation of renewable energy systems, such as small and large wind turbines, solar, geothermal, biodiesel, ethanol, anaerobic digesters or hydrogen. Or, funds can be used for energy efficiency projects, including installing new electric motors that are more efficient in equipment, adding insulation, and improving electrical or heating and cooling systems. Restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries, greenhouses, cold storage businesses, ethanol plants, manu| facturing facilities, as well as any other business that requires a large amount of energy to operate, may benefit from an en- 2007 BUSINESS RESOURCE CONFERENCE HELD AT RUBY'S INN When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends. Japanese Proverb BOXHOLDER i i f l W # W ^^^ HVIuthmedQ snapshot@scinternet.net PRE-SORT STANDARD Fax 435-836-2700 PAID PO BOX 472 LOA, UTAH Loa u t a h 84747 ' PERMIT No. 5 THE GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER is owned and operated by Snapshot Multimedia and distributed weekly to all of Garfield County. Us purpose is to inform residents about local issues and events. Thank you. |