Energy Info for Small Businesses & Farms
Energy Resources for Small Businesses
- Efficiency Maine Business Energy Assistance
- Energy Efficiency for Home-Based Businesses, Small Business Administration
- Grants Connector, Energy Efficiency, Conservation and Renewable Energy Project Grants, Incentives and Other Funding Projects, Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security
- Guide to Energy Efficiency for Maine Businesses: This energy efficiency guide can help you identify strategies, options, and resources for improving the energy performance of your business, buildings, and operations.
Energy Resources for Farms
Energy Use
- Conserving Fuel and Electricity (on the Farm), ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Includes information on efficient agriculture buildings, root zone heating for greenhouse crops, irrigation energy saving tips, maintenance (pumps, motors, and engines), and conserving fuel on the farm.
- Crop Storage: Potatoes, University of Wisconsin — Madison.
- Farmstead Energy Audit, #AE1366, North Dakota State University Extension Service. Topics include tractor and field operations, grain drying, indoor and outdoor lighting, irrigation, livestock watering, livestock buildings, farm shops, and the home.
- Farm Energy Calculators, ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service. Planning tools designed to help producers save electrical energy, fuel, or fossil-fuel-based fertilizers.
- Greenhouse Energy Cost Reduction Strategies, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University.
- Small Farm Energy Primer [Available upon request. Please e-mail us to request a PDF copy.]
Energy Production
- Anaerobic Digestion of Animal Wastes: Factors to Consider, ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
- Biodiesel: Do-It-Yourself Production Basics, ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
- Small Scale Biodiesel Production Options, North Carolina State University
- Solar Energy Applications for Agriculture from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority [Available upon request. Please e-mail us to request a PDF copy.]
- Wind-Powered Electric Systems for Homes, Farms, and Ranches, ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
Current Research & Programming by University of Maine Cooperative Extension
- Harvesting Clean Energy: Caragh Fitzgerald
- Passive and Active Solar Gain in a Small Scale Greenhouse: Barbara Murphy
Energy Efficiency Checklist for Occasional Use Facilities: Churches, Granges, Service Clubs, etc. Use this checklist to help identify areas of energy loss and to create a plan for energy efficiency upgrades. Post the checklist in a public spot to share your progress with your membership.
