The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is expanding a program that provides energy efficiency grants to farmers.

Gov. Charlie Baker's administration announced Tuesday that it will set aside an additional $1 million over two years for the AgEnergy Program, a competitive grant program in which agricultural operations can apply for money for projects to improve energy efficiency or adopt clean energy technology.

The program was started in 2009 under Gov. Deval Patrick and has given out $2.2 million since then to 156 farms. According to the state, that money has helped develop $12.3 million worth of projects, which have achieved $900,000 in annual energy savings. The new funding is a major boost for a program that has gotten $325,000 to $345,000 annually for the last two years.

"The AgEnergy grants are a means by which our farmers can operate their energy needs in a more environmentally friendly manner," Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner John Lebeaux said in an interview with The Republican/MassLive.com. "They can reduce their costs, and it also encourages them to produce energy on the farms."

Lebeaux called the $1 million in funding "a big, big influx of new money" that will allow the department to give more grants to farmers.

The money will come from the fines paid by electric retail suppliers if they have not purchased enough energy from renewable sources to meet their obligations under state law. That money is used for energy-related projects. This will be the first time that money has gone to fund AgEnergy grants.

Projects that have been funded in the past by AgEnergy grants include things like biomass boilers and high efficiency heaters for greenhouses, cold storage and high efficiency refrigeration for vegetable farms, and a variety of photovoltaic projects.

Louis Aragi, co-owner of Pine Island Farm in Sheffield, said he used state and federal grants to help with a $2.2 million project to install a methane digester - essentially, a machine that uses cow manure to make electricity, which then powers the farm. Aragi called the expanded grants "huge" for farmers trying to improve energy efficiency. "Any time you can figure out what you can do to save money, it's money in your pocket," Aragi said.

Baker, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matt Beaton and state agricultural and energy officials announced the expanded grants as part of a Statehouse event proclaiming Tuesday Massachusetts Agricultural Day.

Anh Tuan