Solar project, meat processing facility get loans

A solar project in Clarendon and a meat processing facility in North Springfield are getting a financial boost.
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20140616/BUSINESS03/706169958/1006/BUSINESS

Solar project, meat processing facility get loans By | June 16,2014 A solar project in Clarendon and a meat processing facility in North Springfield are getting a financial boost. Clarendon Solar Farm in North Clarendon will receive a $2 million loan through the Vermont Economic Development Authority’s Commercial Business Energy Loan Program. The loan will help finance the construction of the solar farm, VEDA said in a recent press release. The solar array is being built on 12 of 36 acres purchased for the project near Airport Industrial Park and the Rutland state airport. The project is expected to generate enough annual renewable energy to supply 471 average Vermont households. Webster Bank of Waterbury, Conn., has approved a loan to partially fund the project along with VEDA, the release stated. Also, Black River Produce in North Springfield was approved for a $1.5 million VEDA loan to help complete its multi-phase renovation of the former Ben and Jerry’s and Ellsworth Ice Cream manufacturing facility on Fairbanks Road in North Springfield, the release stated. Black River Produce sells produce, groceries, meat and fish on a wholesale basis to restaurants, grocers and other organizations throughout Vermont and the Northeast. The company is now adding locally-raised and processed meat production to its food distribution business. Planned facility upgrades for the Vermont Packinghouse will include construction of what is expected to be the largest slaughterhouse and meat processing facility in Vermont, according to the release. Black River Produce employs 165 persons, a number expected to increase to 179 within three years of the project completion. Vermont Packinghouse is expected to create an additional 28 jobs at the facility within three years.