In R.I., green energy grants help small farms stay in the black

Matt Tracy and his partner, Catherine Mardosa, have experienced all the difficulties of farming in Rhode Island. There has been drought (still is), floods (the historic 2010 deluge), the ever-present challenge of finding agricultural space in a land-strapped state, and the high fixed costs of machinery, equipment and fuel. As part of their efforts to make Red Planet Farm more sustainable - both environmentally and, just as important, commercially - Tracy and Mardosa are getting ready to install solar panels on the five-acre plot they lease in Johnston to power refrigeration for harvested vegetables, a germination chamber for fragile seedlings and ventilation in their greenhouses.The ground-mounted solar array should help reduce the farm's operating costs for decades to come."That's the biggest benefit to the farmer," Tracy said. He and Mardosa wouldn't be able to pay for the 3.78-kilowatt system without the financial support of a new state initiative that aims to help farms invest in renewable energy and take steps to conserve energy. With a $14,930 grant that will pay for nearly two-thirds of the $23,000 solar array, they are among the inaugural recipients of funding through the Rhode Island Farm Energy Program. The grant program is in the first year of a three-year, $600,000 pilot. There are two funding rounds per year, in April and October, with a total of $200,000 granted annually.