NC Farmers: Take Advantage of Discounted Energy Audits

A new program is providing discounted energy audits to help farmers prioritize energy efficiency projects and access funding for equipment upgrades.

The North Carolina Energy Audit Program provides farmers served by electric co-ops an unbiased third-party evaluation of their farms’ energy profiles and technology opportunities.

The use of electric technology will allow for a decrease in overall energy consumption and will increase productivity on the farm. Each energy audit also includes a detailed inventory of current equipment and an analysis of energy usage by farm activity.

“Electric cooperatives were founded by farmers and grew from their hard work and ingenuity. Our prospects for working together in the future are just as significant as our past,” said Diane Huis, senior vice president, Innovation and Business Development for North Carolina’s Electric Cooperatives. “This energy audit program is a good example of how electric co-ops are helping identify new ways to reduce carbon footprints, lower operating costs and increase productivity for farms.”

The program will cover 75 percent of the cost of an energy audit that can be used to access funding through U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs such as the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides grants up to 25 percent of project costs and loan guarantees up to 75 percent of the project cost. There is no obligation to move forward with projects once an audit report is received.

The program is funded by USDA Rural Development and operated by North Carolina Electric Membership Corporation and EnSave, Inc.