Agricultural Hydro

How to Participate in the ACRE³ Program.

The ACRE³ program has secured $2.9 million, including $1.45 million from the USDA RCPP program, for financial and technical assistance to help farmers upgrade their irrigation systems to save water and energy.

“Water is vital to Colorado’s agricultural community; by making small hydropower accessible to our producers, we are helping them become more self-sufficient and protect their bottom line while creating more efficiency in their water usage,” says Sam Anderson, ACRE³ Program Manager.

CDA has teamed up with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service-Colorado, Rural Development-Colorado, the Colorado Energy Office, and nine other partners through the RCPP program to facilitate the development of low-impact small hydropower on new and existing pressurized irrigation systems.

In addition to pressurized irrigation systems, the ACRE³ program can also support the development of low-impact hydropower projects in irrigation canal drops and small reservoirs.

The Hydropower Partnership Project will make it as easy as possible for agricultural producers to implement hydropower in their irrigation operations. The project aims to install 30 integrated hydromechanical or hydroelectric power systems across Colorado over the next four years. This project also promotes the conversion of flood-irrigated fields to sprinkler irrigation with integrated hydropower to promote water conservation while preserving the irrigator’s full water rights.

Each landowner participating in the Hydropower Partnership Project will work with NRCS to engage in an Irrigation Water Management Plan as part of the resource assessment and conservation activities. With combined funding from the ACRE³program, EQIP, and REAP, landowners could receive as much as 50-75% of project costs to install new irrigation and hydropower systems.

You can learn more about how to use hydropower in your agricultural operation through three useful publications:

Recommendations for Developing Agricultural Hydropower in Colorado

Colorado Small Hydropower Handbook

Agricultural Hydropower Technical Manual