Technical Assistance for Energy Efficiency Improvement Projects

Executive summary The UK-BAE team aims to conduct at least 40 energy audits for Kentucky farm and rural small business owners across the state during a 24-month period. Based on past experience, most of the anticipated projects will primarily include production barns for dairy and poultry farms, plus a few grain drying or handling systems. Other potential projects could be associated with greenhouse enterprises, irrigation pumping stations, farm to market facilities, distillers, brewers or vintners and/or farm shops. A B.S. level engineer will be hired to screen potential applicants and complete energy audits for potential projects. Using a unique set of site assessment tools that have been previously developed by the authors, potential energy efficiency improvement (EEI) projects will be evaluated 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 (who are all currently 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.