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Flathead Lake Cheese uses solar power through REAP grant

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POLSON — With a sunny yellow paint job, a life-sized mural of a cowgirl riding a cow and a copper roof, Flathead Lake Cheese is hard to miss.

Wendi and Joe Arnold started the business and, according to their website, thought up the idea in a hot tub about 10 years ago. 

The creamery/cheesemaking business is heated using solar thermal energy, which is also used for providing hot water for making cheese and pasteurization. 

That’s why there are 140 tubes on the roof, Wendi said.

The couple wanted to use all solar for the creamery, but their budget wouldn’t allow that.

So after talking with Ron Grogan, who had just installed solar thermal heat in his carwash in Ronan, and visiting with Aaron, an engineer at Axmen, who figured out the BTUs per year, the Arnolds applied for a Rural Energy for America Program grant — which are awarded for projects utilizing alternative energy.

Flathead Lake Cheese received a one-time grant of approximately $9,200 to equip the creamery with solar thermal tubes. 

Wendi said it took between 30 to 40 hours to fill out the application, and several months to be scrutinized before the Arnolds were notified they’d won the grant.

Also, as part of the grant package, they submitted quarterly reports and will submit yearly reports for five years. The grant the Arnolds received was a one-time grant. 

“Usually it’s one year and then you are done,” Wendi said, “but we built the creamery from the ground up, and we had slow spots.”

So they requested a one-year extension on their REAP grant for completion.

The REAP grants usually go to huge projects, Wendi said, but “We are one of the smallest nationally.”

REAP (formerly known as the "006" program) offers grants and/or loan guarantees for the purchase and installation of renewable energy generating systems. Assistance is limited to small businesses, farmers and ranchers. Projects must be located in a rural area, according to the USDA Rural Development website.

A rural area is considered a community with population less than 50,000.

Although funding has closed for FY 2013, applications for REAP grants are still accepted for future funding.

The Arnolds broke ground in 2009, and the Flathead Cheese has been in operation since March of 2012. 

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