Grower Direct Farms cuts fuel costs by 70%

Grower Direct Farms, a wholesale grower in Somers, Conn., has installed a wood chip biomass heating system has reduced its annual fuel costs by nearly 70%, reports The Hartford Courant. The company, which used to burn 500,000 gallons of heating oil annually to heat 18 acres of greenhouses, has reduced oil consumption by 450,000 by switching to wood chips. The system replaced six large oil burners and reduced annual fuel oil consumption to just 50,000 gallons. The chips are supplied by Rocky Mountain Wood in Wilbraham, Mass.
Grower Direct financed the biomass system with a $500,000 grant from USDA’s Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP) and an $850,000 loan guarantee. USDA recently announced that it will make $42 million in grants and up to $61 million in guaranteed loans available through the REAP program.
USDA administrator Judith Canales visited Grower Direct on April 19 to highlight the assistance USDA Rural Development provides to rural businesses to help them create jobs and become more energy efficient. Canales administers USDA business programs. Her visit to Connecticut is part of a series of workshops and events across the country to inform businesses and agricultural producers about loans and grants available through USDA.
Under the program, funds are available to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses develop renewable energy systems, make energy efficiency improvements and conduct studies to determine the feasibility of renewable energy systems. For information on how to apply, please see April 14 Federal Register Page 20943 or contact your local USDA Rural Development office.

Pictured: In 2008, USDA Rural Development awarded Grower Direct Farms  a loan guarantee and an energy efficiency grant to reduce its energy usage and cost by installing a biomass heating system that burns wood chips instead of heating fuel.