HOPE — Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said April 23 that 10 Maine businesses in electoral District 1 are receiving $657,000 in renewable energy grants, courtesy of the federal Inflation Reduction Act. Among them, Hatchet Mountain Garage in Hope will receive $21,080 to install solar panels, and Copeland’s Garage, Inc., in Warren, will receive $70,000 for a similar project.

In a news release from Pingree’s office, the grants derive from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Energy for America Program.

In Hope, the funding will go toward installing a new 23.4-kilowatt roof mount solar photovoltaic system. The project is expected to save $3,621 per year, the release said, and is to generate 24,890 kilowatt hours (100+ percent) of the business energy use) per year. 

In Warren, the funding will toward installing a new 46-kilowatt roof mount solar photovoltaic system. This project is expected to save $7,127 per year, the release said. It is to generate 78,040 kilowatt hours (100+ percent of the business energy use) per year. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act represents the single largest investment in rural electrification since passage of the Rural Electrification Act in 1936 and is making enormous strides to incentivize rural and farming communities in their transition to clean energy,” said Pingree, a longtime organic farmer and member of the House Agriculture Committee, in the release. “Thanks to this landmark legislation, the Rural Energy for America Program is helping well-deserving businesses in Maine and across the country reduce their carbon footprints and cut their utility costs at the same time. The REAP grants in my district will go a long way in helping rural businesses be part of the climate solution.”

Other recipients include:

• $422,307 for NC Hunt Inc. (Jefferson) to install a new 230.4-kilowatt ground mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This project is expected to save $71,951 per year. It will generate 305,521 kilowatt hours (100+ percent of the business energy use) per year. 

• $15,879 for Doles Orchard Boxshop LLC (Limington) install a new 17.6-kilowatt roof mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This project is expected to save $1,443 per year. It will generate 27,042 kilowatt hours (100+ percent) of the business energy use) per year. 

• $52,059 for Douglas H MacGilpin LLC (Brunswick) to install a new 29.16-kilowatt ground mount solar photovoltaic system. It will generate 33,285 kilowatt hours (100 percent of the business energy use) per year. This project is expected to save $8,390 per year. 

• $14,866 for Winslow Farm LLC (Falmouth) to install a 15.8-kilowatt roof-mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This project is expected to save $2,902 per year and to generate 16,131 kilowatt hours per year. 

• $13,783 for Boca Builders LLC (Woolwich) to install a 13.8-kilowatt roof mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This project is expected to save $2,216 per year. It will generate 15,994 kilowatt hours per year. 

• $15,536 for Junction Garden LLC (Vassalboro) install a 14.4-kilowatt roof mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This project is expected to save $3,013 per year. It will generate 19,600 kilowatt hours per year. 

• $12,600 for McDonnell Brothers Custom Builders LLC (Windham) to install a new 5.67-kilowatt roof mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This project is expected to save $1,674 per year. It will generate 7,325 kilowatt hours per year. 

• $19,188 for Brancatos Heating Inc. (Brunswick) to install a 19.32-kilowatt roof mount solar photovoltaic (PV) system. This project is expected to save $2,805 per year. It will generate 21,007 kilowatt hours per year. 

In addition to the grants announced for Maine’s First District, USDA announced 11 grants for rural businesses in Maine’s Second District and more than 700 clean energy project grants nationwide. 

The REAP program helps agricultural producers and rural small business owners expand their use of wind, solar, geothermal and small hydropower energy and make energy efficiency improvements. These innovations help them increase their income, grow their businesses, address climate change and lower energy costs for American families.

The IRA, championed by House Democrats and signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, represents the single largest investment in climate and clean energy solutions in American history.

In 2023, Pingree and all Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee wrote to Chair Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-Pa.) and Ranking Member David Scott (D-Ga.) to protect the rural clean energy funding passed in the historic Inflation Reduction Act in the upcoming Farm Bill. 

Pingree has been an organic farmer since the 1970s and is a recognized national policy leader on sustainable food and farming, the release said. As a member of both the House Agriculture Committee and House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee, Pingree continues to be a vocal advocate for agriculture and food policy reform. Because of her leadership, the 2018 Farm Bill more than doubled funding for organic research, created the first federal produce prescription program, and created the local agriculture market program with permanent federal funding. Pingree is the author of the Agriculture Resilience Act, comprehensive legislation that sets a bold vision of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. agriculture by the year 2040. In addition to the Agriculture Committee, Pingree is the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which she chaired in the 117th Congress.