Did you know that there is an amazing benefit that the US Department of Agriculture has for rural businesses upgrading lighting and other energy-saving measures that can pay you up to 25% of your project? The program is called, Rural Energy for Americas Program (REAP). The program runs through the USDA and as long as you meet 2 criteria, you are eligible to apply:
- The location where we are doing the project is in an official rural zone of America . We can do a lookup of your address and determine if this is the case. Obviously, the closer you are to any big city, the chances that you are in a rural zone decreases.
- Your business needs to be a “ small business ” as classified by the Federal Government. In most cases, this means less than 500 employees . Depending on the NAICS code of your business, we can check the specific requirement for you.
That is it. If you meet these two requirements, you are eligible. Also, if you happen to be in any type of agricultural business, you automatically can apply for up to 25% of the total gross cost of the project. Rebates and other incentives do not affect this program. We have seen break-evens on projects in less than one year when you factor in the utility rebate and the REAP benefit.
The hardest part of this program tends to be the actual application. But since we have successfully helped other businesses apply and get this benefit, we can minimize your pain and help fill out the application for you .
Interested in a lighting upgrade? Contact US Lighting Systems at info@uslightingsystems.com or call 843-790-8929 to learn about our installation process!
