A plastic molding manufacturer and a cabinet maker in Missouri received federal funding this week to install solar panels.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a list of 682 recipients of the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, and the Fertilizer Production Expansion Program. The USDA allotted $207 million to both programs combined. The share of REAP grants accounted for $157 million.
The two Missouri businesses are among the 675 REAP recipient groups across 42 states. The grants for these small businesses will be used to install solar arrays that aim to save the businesses thousands of dollars per year.
Kesemann Tool & Die, which received $41,574, is a plastic injection molding manufacturer in Concordia. The company mainly produces parts and components which are assembled into machines such as large steel containers.
With this grant, the company will install a 49.2 kilowatt-hour solar array, which is expected to save about $4,700 per year. This solar array consists of 120 panels with each panel the size of a door. The amount of energy the solar array produces can power five homes.
“The grant will save 98% of the energy we use,” said Jeff Martins, owner and manager of Kesemann Tool & Die. “The REAP grant writers did their part, but also the company that installed the (solar array) system did all the laying work, contract writing, and design services. There was very little for me to do.”
The other group, Phil Thoenen & Sons Cabinets, is a cabinet maker in Bonnots Hill. This 50-year-old family business received $53,610 for a solar array, which is expected to replace more than 45,000 kilowatt-hour per year. It will produce 80% of the energy the company uses.
The REAP program is one of the loans and grants funded under the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Joe Biden in August 2023. The bill includes multiple grant and loan programs for rural parts of the country.
For three years, more than 5,450 recipients have benefited from the REAP program, which was designed to support rural residents by lowering energy costs and increasing companies’ revenue, which would help them sustain their business.
This story was updated to clarify information about the REAP program.
