The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Alabama State director Nivory Gordon Jr. was in Athens Friday to announce the completion of two climate-smart projects in Limestone County under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The grant program — which is designed to help the environment, assist local farmers and businesses, and improve the quality of life on rural areas of Alabama — equipped Midpointe Storage and McPherson Farms with new solar panels.

A grant for $16,650 was awarded to McPherson Farms LLC. “It was utilized to install 22.2 kilowatts of roof-mounted solar energy panels on one of his poultry houses. The system will allow the farm to replace its capacity of 30,525 kilowatts of electricity with some electricity generated on the farm per year,” Gordon said.

Gordon said the farm is expected to lower its energy cost by 55 percent and save enough energy to power at least three homes for a year.

The second grant was awarded to Carter Properties, LLC in the amount of $249,624. Solar panels were installed at Midpointe Storage in East Limestone. “This will reduce the company’s energy usage by 350,299 kilowatt hours per year which is a saving of 100 percent. This is enough to power roughly 100 homes for a year,” Gordon said.

Buddy Carter, owner of Carter Properties, LLC , owns 17 acres in the East Limestone area that he is currently developing into a business park. “We are trying to make it all net green as much as we can,” he said.

“We have 50,000 square foot self storage facility and 67 percent of that is climate controlled,” Carter said. “Our RV/boat facility is 18,000 square foot of solar panels. We are producing three times the power we are using right now. We are actually sending more power into the Athens Utilities/TVA grid than we are using.”

“These type things are a win-win here in Limestone County today for our businesses and the environment. The more energy efficient we can be, the cleaner our environment will be in years to come,” Gordon said. “Rural Development is working to reduce the energy consumption and promote the use of renewable energy sources in rural communities. The REAP Program allows the USDA to reduce the energy expenses, conserve electricity, and help make a climate smart improvement that will benefit our rural communities and America is a whole.”

The USDA offers over 40 programs, and Gordon encourages those in rural communities to explore the opportunities the programs offer. This includes opportunities for homeowners and businesses. The USDA offers housing preservation grants, individual water and wastewater grants, and a variety of loan programs.

“We can create and help with economic development across the region. That’s our main goal here. We take pride in the things we are able to do for our rural communities,” he said.