Agriculture
Agricultural facilities rely on energy to run equipment and keep employees and assets safe.
Whether running dairy equipment or keeping your greenhouse fans running properly, energy can be a significant expense for farms. Discover new ways energy can boost production, while simultaneously improving the comfort and safety of your employees and assets.
How You Benefit
- Boost production with process improvements and energy efficient equipment
- Increase profitability through long-term, reduced energy costs
- Improve security, worker safety, and comfort across your facilities
- Reduce maintenance time and costs and extend the life span of your equipment
- Reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to a cleaner and healthier community
Key Energy Saving Opportunities
1. Energy Audit
NYSERDA offers financial assistance to identify energy efficiency upgrades for eligible farms and on-farm producers, including but not limited to: dairies, orchards, greenhouses, vegetables, vineyards, grain dryers, and poultry/egg. Working with a consultant assigned by NYSERDA, farms may request the level of energy audit that best fits their needs.
Learn more about the Agriculture Energy Audit Program
2. REAP Technical Assistance Program (RTAP)
The REAP Technical Assistance Program (RTAP) provides New York State farmers with no-cost assistance applying to the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) . Through RTAP, farmers receive hands-on support with updates to energy audits and preparing grant application materials.
3. Energy Best Practices for Agriculture
Get access to agricultural best practices for farm energy use and equipment operations. Now you can get information from a continually growing collection of resources and obtain individual, site specific recommendations and guidance to improve operations and productivity.
Learn more about Energy Best Practices
4. Solar
Farms can tap into solar to reduce energy costs by installing solar panels on-site or participating in a community solar project. For on-site installations, solar panels can be mounted on the ground or on buildings (i.e., rooftop solar).
Ground-mounted solar arrays can be designed as an agrivoltaics system, meaning the panels are raised high enough to allow grazing underneath or set wide enough to allow agricultural equipment to operate between panels. Among many other innovative design configurations. Agrivoltaics is a nascent field of research and development.
New York’s solar market is growing quickly, and there’s demand for parcels of land that are suitable to install large-scale solar systems. There are a variety of factors to consider before leasing property for solar development.
Learn more about going solar, leasing your land, or agrivoltaics.
Agriculture Programs and Resources
- Dairy Environmental
: seeks to promote and foster best dairy management practices in animal well-being as it relates to housing, cropping practices and overall environmental systems management - Cornell Waste Management Institute : research, outreach, training, and technical assistance, with a focus on organic residuals
- Greenhouse Lighting and & Systems Engineering (Glase)
: resources on energy-efficient lighting and control systems - Incentive Programs for NYS Farms [PDF]: federal, state, and utility incentives to help agricultural businesses invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy.
- USDA Rural Development's Rural Energy for America Program : provides guaranteed loan financing and grant funding to agricultural producers and rural small businesses for renewable energy systems or to make energy efficiency improvements
- USDA Water and Agriculture Information Center (WAIC) : curated research-based scientific materials and tools describing the relationship between agricultural management systems and natural resources
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Farmers can improve their bottom line and futureproof their business by reducing energy use and adopting clean technologies. Consider maximizing energy saving strategies with additional cost-effective energy investments, including:
- Clean Heating and Cooling: Learn how technologies like cold-climate heat pumps can deliver year-round comfort, save energy, and reduce your carbon footprint.
- Demand Response Programs: Receive financial incentives for reducing electricity use during times of peak demand.
- Energy Storage: Use energy storage technologies to create a continuous, reliable supply of energy for your farm.
For a full list of programs, visit our energy programs and incentives page.
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