Mimi Hill's Blog – April 2012 Archive (3)

There's never a dull moment when you have chocolate in your mouth, and cocoa beans on the brain!. French Broad Chocolates have realized their vision of a sustainable, bean-to-bar, Dan & Jael-style chocolate factory.  Over the last several months, the have leased a 4000 square foot warehouse, secured an SBA-backed small business loan from our bank, and transformed the warehouse into a beautiful, almost-completed factory space. …

SAFER Bioeconomy Case Study Series: Mississippi’s Strategic Biomass Solutions

To borrow a quote from Shakespeare, “What’s in a name?” In the case of the Mississippi Technology Alliance’s Strategic Biomass Solutions (SBS), an evolving organizational mission has meant a name that has also changed over time. While the original focus was on looking for ways to expand the market for…

As part of the Rural Energy for America Program, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has provided the N.C. Solar Center with funding to help rural small businesses and agricultural producers throughout North Carolina and parts of Virginia and South Carolina assess the feasibility of renewable energy projects at their site. This USDA funding covers 75% of the cost of an on-site renewable energy site assessment for eligible companies. We recently completed the first few assessments…