ALAMOSA –The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) and the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) have awarded over $300,000 in grants for agricultural energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The projects span 10 Colorado counties, 14 agricultural producers, and 33 projects including Alamosa County.

Greenhouse funds were awarded for $17,216.80 in Alamosa County.

The funding is part of the multi-agency Colorado Agricultural Energy Efficiency Program, which is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). RCPP provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers to install and maintain projects that address natural resource concerns.

Funding for the awards is provided by CDA’s Advancing Colorado’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ACRE3) grant program.

The Colorado Agricultural Energy Efficiency Program provides a turnkey approach that makes energy efficiency improvements easy for producers. The program provides free energy audits, renewable energy site assessments, and technical support services to about 60 Colorado producers annually. CEO administers the program and funds the energy audits and technical support services. NRCS and CDA provide funding for project implementation and additional services.