NCC Ranks Highest in Country for USDA Grant

Northampton Community College (NCC) received a $100,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Energy for America program to serve agricultural producers and rural small businesses throughout Pennsylvania by providing on-site renewable energy assessments through the Emerging Technology Applications Center (ETAC) at the college. The ETAC team at NCC will travel across Pennsylvania aiming to provide businesses with economic and technical assessments unique to their operations, facilities, and equipment. 

This is the fourth grant ETAC has been awarded under this program. Notably, ETAC received the highest-ranking score in the nation on the grant application, and NCC was the only submission to receive funding in Pennsylvania. In past efforts, ETAC at NCC was able to help businesses and agricultural producers reduce their costs and carbon footprint. Our outreach initiatives and implementation success were both contributing factors to our ranking and earning this grant.  

Dr. John Barkanic, ETAC consultant at NCC, said, “In today's environment, national grant opportunities are highly competitive. This is a testimony to Northampton Community College's vision to foster growth of in-house technical expertise and retain a talented grant writing team.” 

In some cases, there is an opportunity to generate so much electricity, it can be sold back to the power grid. Businesses will be provided with a report describing how renewable energy conversion can result in lower operating costs and improved sustainability. Dr. Barkanic says that he already has plans to help businesses and organizations across Pennsylvania.  

Eligible alternative energy sources include geothermal, solar photovoltaics, thermal solar, wind turbines and biodigesters, with solar being the most popular.  For example, a biodigester on a farm can use organic material to generate methane gas, which in turn can be used to generate electric energy.    

Should a business choose to implement an alternative energy source, the USDA could provide funding for up to half the installed cost to accelerate deployment of the technology. The organization must have 50% of its income coming from agriculture production or be a rural small business to be eligible for USDA assistance.  

For more information on ETAC and our grant program, contact Dr. John Barkanic at 610-861-5381 or jbarkanic@northampton.edu.