MEA Farm Energy Audit available to Maryland Farmers

A new program made available by the Maryland Energy Administration is now available for all agricultural producers in Maryland! The Maryland Statewide Farm Energy Audit Program is a new program based on a successful program run originally for Maryland’s Eastern Shore and western counties. This program will help farmers reduce their energy costs through farm energy audits and incentives for qualifying energy saving projects.

A farm energy audit collects and analyzes data about a farm’s energy use and recommends actions to increase the energy efficiency of your farm operation. The process begins when an EnSave representative conducts a phone interview with a farmer to collect basic information about the operation, such as the size of the facility, the current energy use, and any plans for the future. A data collector will then visit the farm to capture energy end-use information. Following the visit, EnSave will generate a customized, multi-page energy audit report which will provide information about energy use and the potential for energy savings. EnSave will follow up to review the report, answer any questions, and discuss next steps.

Farmers will pay $300 for an energy audit, with the cost refunded if they install any of the measures recommended through the audit. The energy efficient equipment incentives will be available whether producers receive an energy audit or not. The program’s equipment incentives will be based on $0.06 per kilowatt hour of electricity saved for any qualifying lighting projects, $0.08 per kilowatt hour saved for all other eligible electric saving projects, and $1.50 per gallon of propane saved for eligible gas saving projects. The incentives cannot exceed 50 percent of the total project cost.

For more information interested producers can visit www.ensave.com/
call Corey Conant, EnSave’s Program Manager, at (800) 732-1399, or e-mail Corey at coreyc@ensave.com