Rural firms win energy grants

Winnemucca Farms, Desert Hills Dairy in Yerington, Iron Mountain Nursery in Stagecoach and eight other rural businesses received part of $186,200 in USDA grants to improve energy efficiency by adding solar energy capacity.

Lampe’s Corner in Gardnerville, for example, will use its $12,500 grant to construct a 10-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system to provide power for the gas station and convenience store. The project will generate an estimated 18,270 kilowatt hours of renewable energy annually. The contractor is Solar Products LLC.

McCleary Ranch near Carson City will use $13,162 to build a 9.75-kW solar photovoltaic system for its farming operations located on the former List Ranch. The system will generate 14,433 kilowatt hours of renewable energy annually for irrigation.

America’s Best Inn & Suites and the Monarch Motel, two Hawthorne motels, will receive $14,493 and $18,817, respectively. The contractors on the motel projects are Briggs Electric of Carson City for the Monarch Motel, and Sustainable Energy Solutions of Sparks for the America’s Best Inn and Suites.

NNBW staff