The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is pleased to announce the open application period for the Climate Smart Agriculture Program (“CSAP”) which combines MDAR’s water, energy, and climate grants into one application.
Donor Name: Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 05/26/2023
Size of the Grant: Up to $50,000
Details:
The Climate Smart Agriculture Program (“CSAP”) combines MDAR’s water, energy, and climate grants into one application. The three grant programs combined in this application are the Agricultural Climate Resiliency & Efficiencies (“ACRE”) Grant, the Agricultural Environmental Enhancement Program Grant (“AEEP”) and the Ag-Energy Program Grant (“ENER”). By bringing the three grants under one program, MDAR seeks to simplify the application process.
The Climate Smart Agriculture Program (“Program”) links MDAR’s separate water, climate, and energy grants together into one application process. The goal of the Program is to help agricultural operations to adapt and build resiliency while improving sustainability and increasing productivity. By providing reimbursement directly to agricultural operations that implement eligible projects, the program will achieve its purpose of helping the agricultural sector cultivate climate resiliency, mitigate climate change, safeguard natural resources, increase energy efficiency, promote renewable energy, and improve economic resiliency.
This Request for Response (“RFR”) will consist of 2 Sections:
- Part I: Environmental Projects under ACRE and AEEP
- Part II: Agricultural Energy Efficiency & Renewable Projects under ENER.
Funding Information
- Part I: Environmental Maximum funding per applicant is 80% of total project costs, up to $50,000.
- Part II: Energy Efficiency & Renewables
- Maximum funding per applicant is 80% of total project costs, up to $50,000.
- Maximum funding for solar PV shall be $2,000/kW without battery storage and $2,500/kW with battery storage.
Eligible Projects
- Environmental Projects under ACRE and AEEP (Part I)
- Adaptation
- Mitigation
- Agricultural Energy Efficiency & Renewable Projects under ENER (Part II)
- Energy Efficiency
- Renewable & Alternative Energy
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicant must be an agricultural operation that is principally and substantially engaged in the business of production agriculture.
- The property must be in active agricultural use and managed as a commercial enterprise by the Applicant for at least the three previous years to the date of the application.
- Eligible farm stands shall comply with all applicable laws, including but not limited to, and demonstrate that the purpose of the farm stand shall be to sell agricultural products, a majority of which are produced by the applicant’s agricultural operation.
For more information, visit MDAR.
