Green energy is being prioritized more, after 24 Illinois businesses were selected for grants to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in their operations.
Among those who will benefit from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants are agricultural producers, rural small businesses and an electric cooperative.
The recipients will receive a total of $346,574 and were among 900 recipients selected nationwide, reports Quad-Cities Online.
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, who was appointed by President Obama, made the announcement in Atkinson, Ill., as part of Obama's rural economic bus tour in the Midwest.
The tour cast light on current efforts to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, increase the economic competitiveness of rural America and promote job creation.
Colleen Callahan, state director for USDA Rural Development in Illinois, was in Atkinson when Vilsack made the announcement.
"This investment can have a considerable impact on the environment and profitability for agriculture and small business," Callahan said, Quad-Cities Online reports.
"The energy efficiency improvements and use of renewable energy systems will save these recipients thousands of dollars in energy costs each year by substantially cutting their energy consumption,” she said.
The grants are being provided through the 2008 Farm Bill initiative, Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
19 of the Illinois REAP recipients say they will use the funding to improve their grain dryer system or otherwise reduce energy consumption in their grain operation, Quad-Cities reports.
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