The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) announces $250,000 in available grant funding through the Agriculture and Rural Businesses Energy Incentive Program.
The goal of the grants is to accelerate the implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy on farms, agriculture-related entities, and rural businesses.
This grant opportunity will support increased resilience and stability of agricultural, agriculture-related, and rural businesses in Michigan, through energy efficiency, renewable energy, electrification, and other energy projects. The Agriculture and Rural Businesses Energy Incentive Program grants will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and further Michigan on its path to carbon neutrality by 2050, as stated in the MI Healthy Climate Plan.
Who is eligible?
- Any agricultural or related entity (farm, crop processing, food processing, etc.) with less than 500 employees worldwide and physically located in Michigan is eligible to apply.
- Also eligible are small businesses (non-manufacturing) with less than 500 employees worldwide and physically located in rural Michigan, as defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Business, Property Eligibility Map for the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
- Projects must address one or more program objectives and one or more program priorities listed under Section I-B of the Request for Proposals.
The maximum individual grant award amount is $25,000. Applicants must provide a minimum 100 percent (1:1) match of the total requested grant funds. The program will accept applications until all funds are committed, or March 3, 2024, whichever comes first.
Please see the Request for Proposals for more information on eligibility, examples of eligible projects, and scoring criteria. Prior to submittal of their proposal, applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposal and any questions they have about the program, with staff in EGLE's Energy Unit. Technical assistance is also available through the Retired Engineers, Scientists, Technicians, Administrators, Researchers, and Teachers (RESTART) program. RESTART offers free onsite energy efficiency and sustainability technical assistance and assessments to small and medium-sized businesses throughout Michigan.
See the Agriculture and Rural Businesses Energy Incentive Program Web page for more information on this opportunity. Subscribe to hear more about new energy funding opportunities from EGLE.
