$455k USDA energy grant goes to Balsams

Balsams View LLC, the company that owns and is renovating the landmark Balsams Grand Resort in Dixville Notch, has received a $455,000 federal grant to help it install a $1.8 million, high-efficiency wood-fired heating system.

The grant, awarded by the Department of Agriculture through its Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, will allow Balsams View to replace its current heating system with a boiler system that is expected to use 77 percent less wood.

Under the REAP program, financial assistance is given to farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses to purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy-efficiency improvements, said Mary Lambert, state director of USDA Rural Development.