CANAAN — Canaan Hardware and Supply received a federal grant to install a solar array that is expected to save the business nearly $10,000 annually.

The $56,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program for the Canaan store was part of $10.6 million of funding awarded to businesses and municipalities in New Hampshire through rural development programs, the agency announced last month.

REAP, as it’s known, is a rural development program that provides loans and grants to agricultural producers, rural businesses, co-ops and tribal businesses to support renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

“If there wasn’t a grant, I wouldn’t have considered doing solar. It’s just so expensive,” Robin Dow Parker, owner of Canaan Hardware and Supply, said in an interview. 

The grant will be used to install an 84-panel roof-mounted solar array that will offset 100% of the store’s historical electric consumption. 

Dow Parker said now that the store has received the funding, she is working with ReVision Energy in Enfield to secure a time to begin installation. 

She said she is hopeful that the solar panels will “stabilize” the store’s energy costs which have been “up and down and all over the place.”

All of New Hampshire and Vermont are considered rural areas eligible for REAP funding except for Manchester, Merrimack and Nashua and some of the surrounding area. 

The USDA Rural Development office for Vermont and New Hampshire sponsors many programs for rural homeowners and businesses, with REAP being just one. Many were strengthened by the Inflation Reduction Act — a wide-reaching 2022 bill with several provisions targeting clean energy and climate change. The act increased the maximum value of REAP grants to $1 million and doubled the amount of loan forgiveness from 25% to 50%. 

“We are intent on helping as many people as we can with the programs we have,” said Sarah Waring, the USDA Rural Development Office state director for Vermont and New Hampshire in a July press release. “Homeowners who need hazards removed, small businesses needing a little boost, low-income communities struggling to build a future.”

This year, Clean Energy New Hampshire in partnership with the Plymouth Area Energy Initiative received a $499,000 REAP Technical Assistance Grant to help small businesses apply for REAP funding.

The organization promotes clean energy and energy efficiency across the state. Through its Energy Circuit Rider (ECR) program, it offers guidance and advice to businesses and municipalities looking to improve their energy efficiency. 

“It’s a big lift for small business owners in New Hampshire to identify that the program exists, work through all the federal forms and requirements and put together something that can be submitted and will score highly enough to get funding,” Sarah Brock, director of the ECR program, said in an interview. “Our job is to make that easy for them.” 

Historically, Vermont has had more programs and resources to support solar development and increase energy efficiency compared to New Hampshire, Brock said.

In the most recent state rankings, Vermont has jumped 47thto 38th in terms of highest total installed solar capacity, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. New Hampshire slipped from 40th to 41st.

“There are programs and when those programs arise, we are aggressively helping folks across the state to access them,” Brock said of New Hampshire.

Brock said she rarely hears concerns about the efficacy of green energy technology and instead the main issue is cost, especially when towns and businesses also are dealing with unprecedented costs such as repairing damage from flooding.

“Ultimately, anything you invest in energy is an investment now to save money later, which is a really savvy smart move that everyone gets, but we don’t always have the money now, which is why these grant programs can be such a game changer,” Brock said.

Clare Shanahan can be reached at clareishanahan@gmail.com.