NoCo renewable energy projects receive grants

LAKEWOOD – Eleven grants totaling $500,000 have been awarded through the state Department of Agriculture’s Advancing Colorado’s Renewable Energy program, including $75,000 to assist in the implementation of a waste-to-energy plant in LaSalle and $50,000 to Colorado State University to assess energy efficiency on various agricultural settings.

Heartland Renewable Energy in Weld County received a project participation grant to assist with the purchase or lease of equipment, construction costs and land costs for the waste-to-energy plant. Such grants are made to a maximum of $100,000 to projects where a satisfactory feasibility study has already been completed. Projects must in some way benefit or be tied to agricultural production or the utilization of agricultural land or water.

“ACRE is a statewide effort to promote energy-related projects beneficial to Colorado’s agriculture industry,´ said Tom Lipetzky, Markets Division Director at the Department of Agriculture. “The grants awarded by this project are an important step toward helping our agriculture industry to be a leading participant in the new energy economy.”

SPONSORED CONTENT

Commercial Solar is a big investment, but not an overwhelming one

Solar offers a significant economic benefit for commercial property owners while also positively impacting the environment and offering a path to compliance for new municipal requirements like Energize Denver. A local, experienced solar installer will help you navigate the complexities of commercial solar to achieve financial success for your project.

Grants were awarded in three categories: feasibility studies, project participation and research. Brink Inc. in Lincoln County was awarded a $47,500 participation grant to develop a demonstration, planning and guidance tool for wind turbines on Colorado feedlots and farms.

Two grants, each for $25,000, were awarded for feasibility studies, which address the viability of establishing an agricultural energy-related project: Costilla County Economic Development, to assess the feasibility of privatizing the Costilla County Biodiesel facility, and Northeast Colorado RC&D in Morgan County to determine the feasibility of developing a mixed feedstock food and ag waste digester near the Fort Morgan Industrial Park.

In addition to the CSU grant, five maximum $50,000 grants for research into agricultural energy related topics and issues were awarded:

• Synergistic Building Technologies in Boulder County for Phase 2 of a close-to-zero carbon footprint greenhouse to enhance the design and fully explore and document the rich data from the research.
• BioHarmony Corp., also in Boulder County, to research the potential of a new acceleration technology for ethanol production.
• Applegate Group in Garfield County to research the potential of Colorado’s agricultural infrastructure to produce low-head hydroelectric power.
• BioVantage Algal Biomass, Jefferson County, to research the potential of ag waste to algal biomass.
• Flux Farm, Garfield and Mesa Counties, to evaluate various perennial plant species and production inputs for sustainable biomass and bioenergy production on the Western Slope. Southeast Colorado RC&D in Prowers County received $27,500 to research oilseed cropping as a strategy for sustained farming in regions impacted by agricultural water transfers in the Lower Arkansas Valley.

“This year’s awards demonstrate not only CDA’s commitment to wind, biogas and biofuel, but also to hydro, algal biomass and agricultural energy efficiency,” Lipetzky said.

The Colorado Agricultural Value Added Development Board is administered by the Colorado Department of Agriculture to help facilitate the processing of agricultural products and commodities within the state and to serve as a resource for the state’s agricultural industry.

For more information on the ACRE program, visit www.colorado.gov/ag/energy.