by Ken Quintanilla

Guam - U.S. Department of Agriculture program specialist Anthony Barcinas encouraged island Rotarians to think green during their meeting Tuesday. "We are going to be talking about our Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP). The program basically provides monetary incentives through a grant for private enterprises or private businesses to purchase renewable energy systems such as photovoltaics," he explained.

The program provides businesses an opportunity to make energy efficient improvements to their facilities. The program consists of two components: under the grant USDA will cover up to 25% of the total cost of the energy efficiency project to defray investment costs. In the guarantee component, USDA guarantees up to 80% of the total loan amount that the business obtains from a private lender.

For more information go to rurdev.usda.gov.