U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced USDA is investing $44 million in renewable energy and domestic fertilizer projects to lower energy bills, generate new income, create jobs, and strengthen competition for U.S. farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers.

“Powering our state with modern, renewable energy infrastructure creates good-paying jobs and supports opportunities for people to drive economic prosperity and security,” said Rural Development State Director Reginald Speight in a press release.

USDA is awarding $44 million in North Carolina for projects through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program (FPEP).

In Hoke County, Timberland Farm will use a $167 thousand Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Grant to purchase and install a 79 and 115 kilowatt solar arrays. The project will save 299 kilowatt hours per year. This project will save enough electricity to power 28 homes.

In Sampson County, Anthony F. King will use a $213 thousand Rural Energy for America Program Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Grant to purchase and install a 283-kilowatt solar array. Anthony F. King will save 418 thousand kilowatt hours per year, which is enough electricity to power 40 homes.

Nationwide the REAP awards total $157 million for 675 projects in 42 states, including more than $94 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. The REAP program delivers on the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. These investments will cut energy costs for farmers and ag producers that can instead be used to create jobs and new revenue streams for people in their communities.