Energy

As Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development, it is my responsibility to oversee the administration of many of the renewable energy programs included in the 2008 Farm Bill. For example, today we are announcing the availability of funds for the popular “Rural Energy for America” program (REAP).

Today, in Chicago, I joined Secretary Vilsack as he met with leaders from Boeing, United Airlines and Honeywell, to talk about support for the development of biofuels to power our jets. In the United States alone, passenger and cargo airlines spend about $50 billion on fuel each year. If just a...

With the literal rise of wind energy facilities across the country in recent years, migratory bats have been affected and can die in the huge turbines designed to catch the wind—and, unintentionally, winged creatures that fly at night. The new interactive tool referred to as the Bat Occupancy...

The U.S. Forest Service has approved construction of a wind energy facility on the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont.

Are there cost effective steps that rural communities can take to attract and grow competitive, sustainable energy-related businesses? That was the central question being examined by visiting members of the Organization for Economic and Community Development (OECD) during a series of meetings this...

Not everyone knows it, but most Americans use biofuels to help power their car or truck every day. Using biofuels we produce here at home creates jobs, raises incomes for farmers, and saves us all money. The ethanol mixed into the gas we buy at the pump saved American drivers almost 90 cents per...

New Mexico is one of several states to participate in building anaerobic digesters, which use manure as fuel to create energy. The goal is to construct them over a four-year period, through USDA’s Rural Development, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency (FSA). On...

The Missouri “Fuels for Schools” projects, funded by Forest Service Recovery Act dollars, are converting aging heating machinery in six schools with woody biomass systems in and around the Ozarks.

A new white paper titled An Explanation of Green Jobs Policies, Theory, Measurement Approaches, and Job Growth Expectations was written by Iowa State University through a cooperative agreement with USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses. The authors explore policy, theoretical foundations, and...

A new white paper titled Developing of a Purchasing Manager’s Index for Biobased Products was written by Iowa State University through a cooperative agreement with USDA’s Office of Energy Policy and New Uses. The authors explore the development of a measurement for biobased products, which are...