The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is seeking applications from farmers and ranchers interested in modernizing their agricultural operations with energy efficiency improvements or renewable energy projects. Agricultural producers can apply for funding and technical assistance through CDA’s Advancing Colorado’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ACRE3) program, which aims to reduce on-farm energy costs while promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
“Energy costs can be up to 30 percent of overhead costs for some farmers and ranchers,” said Sam Anderson, CDA’s Energy Specialist. “With skillful and unbiased technical assistance, producers can reduce their energy costs, or in some cases eliminate them completely. The ACRE3 program guides farmers and ranchers through these projects with no-cost project assessments and up to 50% cost share for the projects.”
ACRE3 is accepting online pre-applications for energy projects through May 31, 2025. ACRE3 program staff will confirm each project’s eligibility and can help eligible applicants find a fair bid for the project. ACRE3 will then award funding for a project feasibility study or energy efficiency audit report, depending on the project type, from a third-party contractor at no cost to the producer. These feasibility studies or energy audits will give the producer a reliable estimate of the energy- and cost-saving potential of the project, including the estimated return on investment and any potential barriers for the project.
Upon completion of the feasibility studies or energy audits, CDA will run a competitive grant review process for applicants still interested in pursuing their project. ACRE3 will award grants of up to 50% of the project costs. Projects not selected for grant funding can use their completed feasibility study or energy audit to apply for other funding options.
“These are valuable services for producers,” Anderson said. “It removes the grant-writing burden from our already-busy farmers and ranchers and funds neutral, third-party evaluations for the energy projects.”
The ACRE3 program can fund up to 36 different categories of agricultural energy efficiency projects and renewable energy projects, including solar photovoltaics, solar hot water, hydropower in irrigation systems, and ground-source heat pumps. ACRE3 funding is only applicable to proposed projects for existing on-farm energy purposes and cannot be used for residential energy or energy generation for sale to a third party.
Eligible applicants can receive a maximum award of $100,000 for project implementation per two-year funding period.
CDA will host a virtual informational session with time for questions and answers for interested applicants. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, April 8 at 2:00 pm. Interested participants can sign up via the Zoom registration page which can also be found at ag.colorado.gov/ACRE3.
Environmental stewardship and climate resilience are one of CDA’s strategic priorities.