National Bioenergy Day set for October 18, 2017

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 18, 2017 – the Fifth Annual Bioenergy Day! This year, the event focus will be on the role of bioenergy in a larger forest products economy that promotes forest health. Bioenergy stakeholders are invited to participate by holding a facility tour, panel discussion or other event focused on bioenergy and its many benefits. Biomass power, domestic and export pellets, biogas, anaerobic digesters, combined heat and power – all of these types of bioenergy are part of Bioenergy Day. Learn more on www.bioenergyday.com.

Wood2Energy Website Revitalized Via New Partnership

The U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities has announced the launch of the revitalized wood bioenergy facility database and mapping tool (www.wood2energy.org). The site is the most comprehensive database of its kind in North America.  The vision for Wood2Energy.org was to develop a database and mapping tool that aggregates facility level data to deliver a unique perspective of the wood bioenergy industry. With separate, clickable layers and simple symbology organizing data by facility type, size, operational status, and additional detailed information for each data point, users have the ability to plot and contextualize data from the macro-level down to the site-level.

2016 Billion-Ton Report shows sustainable biomass potential through 2040

In Washington, the 2016 Billion-Ton Report, jointly released by the U.S. Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, concludes that the United States has the potential to sustainably produce at least 1 billion dry tons of nonfood biomass resources annually by 2040. These renewable resources include agricultural, forestry and algal biomass, as well as waste. They encompass the current and future potential of biomass, from currently available logging and crop residues to future available algae and dedicated energy crops–all useable for the production of biofuel, biopower and bioproducts. (Biofuels Digest)

 

USDA unveils 2016 BCAP funding program

USDA-FSA has announced that it will resume offering incentives through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). BCAP provides financial assistance to farmers and ranchers who establish and maintain new crops of energy biomass, or who harvest and deliver forest or agricultural residues to a USDA-approved facility that creates energy or biobased products. See the USDA-FSA news release.

To learn more about BCAP or to enroll in updates, visit www.fsa.usda.gov/bcap or contact your local FSA county office.

DOE Launches Advanced Biofuels Support Program

On May 6, 2016, the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy issued a funding opportunity announcement (“FOA”) of $90,000,000 in financial assistance for projects focused on designing, constructing and operating integrated biorefinery facilities. The financial assistance under the FOA is in the form of direct grants, designed to support pilot and demonstration scale manufacturing of advanced or cellulosic biofuels, bioproducts, refinery compatible intermediates, or biopower in a domestic pilot or demonstration scale integrated biorefinery.

The good folks at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP have put together a Legal Alert providing an overview of the FOA solicitation. Further information about the program can be found at: https://eereexchange.energy.gov/default.aspx#FoaId751733aa-d067-485a-aeb6-6927147d81f7.