Technical Assistance for Energy Audits and Renewable Energy Projects in Rural Kentucky

We aim to conduct at least 40 on-farm energy audits for Kentucky farm and rural small business owners across the state during a 12-month period. Based on past experience, anticipated projects will include production barns for dairy and poultry farms, grain drying or handling systems, solar PV installations, and possibly greenhouse enterprises, irrigation pumping stations and/or farm shops. An M.S. level engineer will be hired to screen potential applicants with a unique set of site assessment tools that have been previously developed by the authors for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to rank potential projects based on their currently available records, potential impact for energy savings and environmental impact, level of interest in applying energy saving measures and other criteria. Preliminary calculations will be made for an assessment of the most significant energy saving measures that can be implemented on the farm or business. All calculations will be checked by one of the authors (all registered Professional Engineers in the Commonwealth of Kentucky) prior to sharing with the farm or small business owner. The number of projects completed, pertinent costs and the amount of energy saved or generated from each project will be recorded and included in summary reports.