Committed to the Future of Rural Communities
Farm Bill Section 9006 – 7CFR 4280-Subpart B
FACT SHEET
Section 9006 – The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program, through USDA-Rural Development, offers
grants, guaranteed loans, and combination grant/guaranteed loans to help agricultural producers and rural
small businesses purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements in rural
areas. Helpful information regarding the Section 9006 program can be found at:
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/farmbill/index.html.
Who is eligible?
An agricultural producer (individual or entity) directly engaged in the production of agricultural products and
obtains at least 50% or greater of their gross income from their agriculture business.
A rural small business – an entity is considered a small business in accordance with SBA’s (Small Business
Administration) small business size standards (by NAICS codes). SBA small size standards can be found at
http://www.sba.gov/size/index.html.
---A private entity including a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and a cooperative (including a
cooperative qualified under section 501(c)(12) of the Internal Revenue Code).
---An electric utility, including a Tribal or governmental electric utility, that provides service to rural
consumers on a cost-of-service basis without support from public funds or subsidy from the
Government authority establishing the district, provided such utilities meet SBA’s definition of small
business. These entities must operate independent of direct Government control.
With the exception of the entities described above, all other non-profit organizations and public entities are
excluded.
For projects with total eligible costs exceeding $200,000, agricultural producers and rural small businesses must
demonstrate a financial need.
For projects with total eligible costs of $2