FREEPORT – Community Energy Partners LLC will hold workshops for Maine farmers and rural small-business owners eligible for up to $750,000 in federal funding to purchase renewable energy systems or make energy-efficiency improvements in their businesses.

Known as the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Improvements Guarantee Program, the funding comes under Section 9006 of the 2002 Farm Bill. It provides financial assistance to foster economic development and growth in rural areas.

“The 9006 program is a great opportunity for Maine farmers and small-business owners to reduce their electricity costs at a time of record-high prices,” said Sue Jones, who is in the process of creating Community Energy Partners after working as an attorney and lobbyist for the Natural Resources Council of Maine for eight years.

This year the 9006 program is making available more than $187 million nationally, with more than $11.385 million for competitive grants and $176.5 million for guaranteed loans. Individual projects are eligible for up to $750,000 per year in combined renewable and efficiency funding. In 2005, more than half the total grant funding (more than $11 million) went to wind-energy projects, with nearly all of it going to large wind projects of 1 megawatt or greater.

“With strong wind resources located in many rural and farming areas in Maine, the 9006 program can provide the seed money for farmers to harvest wind, Maine’s newest and most profitable crop,” said Jones.

In 2005, 85 wind projects were funded. The vast majority of funding was at the $250,000 level, but 5 projects were funded at the maximum level of $500,000 for a renewable project. For the first time in 2005, the USDA made two loan guarantees of $10.1 million for each of two projects for a total of $20.2 million.

In 2004, Gold Top Farms of Knox received $4,462 for efficiency improvements to its dairy barn. By installing three fans, Gold Top Farms expects to save more than $8,000 annually, contributing directly to the farm’s profit. Gold Top Farms combined federal funding with the PUC’s Efficiency Maine state funding to put together its proposal. In 2005, Windham Millwork Inc. received a 9006 grant.

Qualifying projects have included installation of wood-fired and biomass furnaces, geothermal energy systems, and manure processing and drying equipment, construction of a biodiesel plant, grain dryer and kiln systems and solar PV pumping systems, as well as the installation of energy-efficient equipment in barns, office facilities, warehouses and restaurants, among other projects.

The workshops will be led by Jones and John Sheehan from USDA’s Bangor office.

The agenda for the workshops includes an introduction and overview of the 9006 program by John Sheehan, a video presentation that highlights successful farmer- and small-business-owned renewable and efficiency projects in the Northeast, and a presentation by Jones on how to put together a qualifying project, potential business models and two case studies of projects that have received 9006 funding.

The workshops are free and will be held Thursday, April 6, at the Eastern Maine Development Corp. in Bangor, and Friday, April 7, at the Holiday Inn Ground Round in Augusta. Registration will be held from 8:30 to 9 a.m.; the workshops will be held from 9 to 11:00 a.m. For more information and to register, please e-mail renewable@suscom-maine.net, or call 221-5639 or 865-0042.

“Maine farmers and rural small businesses who are looking for ways to reduce high energy costs should attend one of these one-stop-shopping workshops,” said Jones. “Our goal is to give them the information and tools they need to be successful recipients in 2006.”