USDA Urged to Include Former Maine Mills Sites in Grant Program

Two members of Maine’s congressional delegation have urged U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Thomas Vilsack to change the eligibility requirements of a federal program to include projects based at former mill sites in Maine.

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) — designed to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses pursue projects intended to imrpove their energy efficiency — currently requires applicants to show twelve to sixty months worth of energy consumption data.

REAP is funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, which the United States Department of Energy (DOE) describes as “the single largest investment in climate and energy in American history, enabling America to tackle the climate crisis, advancing environmental justice, securing America’s position as a world leader in domestic clean energy manufacturing.”

According to Democratic Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree, who penned the letter to Vilsack, REAP “unfairly excludes projects originating from non-operational mills” by requiring the submission of recent energy consumption data.

“Former mill sites often generated heat during production, and as such cannot demonstrate historical energy consumption,” the representatives wrote. “We believe that changes to this program are essential to ensure increased investment in economic development projects in small and rural communities with out-of-commission mills.”

Although these mills required a significant amount of energy to run, their net energy consumption was often low due to the quantity of heat produced by the machinery.

Consequently, the lawmakers argue that those seeking to utilize these sites are “unfairly excluded” from receiving REAP funding “even if the proposals would undoubtedly improve energy efficiency.”

They go on to explain that mills which have been non-operational for more than five years are also excluded from the program due to a lack of historical data.

Considering both Golden and Pingree were big cheerleaders for the Inflation Reduction Act when it originally passed, it’s unclear why these mills sites were excluded from the original legislation.

The lawmakers suggest in their press release that the USDA has previously told Golden and Pingree that they were considering solutions in order support these types of projects, but the lawmakers indicate that they have not yet heard back from the agency.

“We were encouraged to see USDA state they would consider changing the current requirements for historical energy usage or establish a new program set aside specifically for projects based in old mills to ensure that critical economic development projects like those in our districts can receive funding,” said Golden and Pingree.

“We believe that the unique nature of these former mill sites warrant USDA expeditiously reviewing REAP applicant requirements to ensure that projects that both benefit the local area and ensure efficiency improvements are given the opportunity to apply for REAP funding rather than be left out entirely,” Golden and Pingree wrote. “We request an update on the status of amending REAP program to support applicants without historical energy consumption.”

Click Here to Read the Full Press Release

As is noted by Golden and Pingree, Maine has been awarded about $200 million in REAP funding since 2018.

Recently, the state received more than $7 million for renewable energy and energy efficiency investments at farms and businesses throughout rural Maine as part of a $124 million nationwide REAP dispersal.

Maine was also given a total of $4.3 million to make “clean energy investments,” primarily in the form of solar panels.