Posts Tagged: WBU
Woody Biomass Utilization Grant 2012 - Workshops Announced
The annual Forest Service Woody Biomass Utilization grant program has been creating some confusion for people. Grants.gov has had information online for the program since November 2011 even though it has not yet officially been announced on the Federal Register. According to the program manager at the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison we can treat the information on grants.gov and on the FPL website as a pre-announcement of this years program. The Federal Register announcement will be very soon.
The advertised mailing deadline is March 1 2012 so if you are planning to submit it is important you start the process soon.
UC Berkeley and the Forest Service are holding 3 information sessions next week:
Monday (February 6) – Sonora, 3pm-5pm, Stanislaus National Forest, Register Here
Tuesday (February 7) – Nevada City, 1pm-3pm, Tahoe National Forest, Register Here
Thursday (February 9) – Redding, 1pm-3pm, Shasta-Trinity National Forest, Register Here
Information on the Grant Program
The program remains very similar to last year when it changed significantly compared to previous years. Main points include:
• The program is focused on biomass to energy projects
• Equipment is not eligible for funding
• Grants will fund advanced engineering studies or similar
• $250,000 maximum grant per project
• Single step application process (mailing date March 1 2012)
Full information and application materials are on the FPL website.
Who should attend?
The grant program is of most relevance to organizations that are developing biomass to energy projects. The following entities may be interested in this workshop: power plants, project developers, National Forest System staff, other Federal agencies, forest-based businesses, contractors, rural communities, landowners, tribal entities, conservation groups, rural and urban economic development councils.
Topics:
• Background
• Application process
• Eligibility
• Obligations
• Timeline
• Assistance available to help with applications
• Questions
We will also include time to discuss other woody biomass utilization issues for those attendees that are interested.
Registration:
There is no cost for this workshop but advance online registration is appreciated.
Monday (February 6) – Sonora, 3pm-5pm, Register Here
Tuesday (February 7) – Nevada City, 1pm-3pm, Register Here
Thursday (February 9) – Redding, 1pm-3pm, Register Here
Woody Biomass Utilization Grants Announced
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the successful projects that will receive almost $3m in funding from the 2011 Forest Service Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program. This year the program objective was to fund advanced engineering studies for woody biomass to energy projects.
Nationally 17 projects were selected for funding, including 3 from California, from a total of 34 submitted. The successful projects are listed below and locations are shown on the map.
Applicant |
City |
State |
Grant Amount |
Matanuska-Susitna Borough |
Palmer, |
AK |
$ 80,000 |
Placer County |
Kings Beach, |
CA |
$ 50,000 |
Kiara Solar |
Anderson, |
CA |
$ 250,000 |
Trinity River Lumber |
Weaverville, |
CA |
$ 250,000 |
Community Power Corporation |
Littleton, |
CO |
$ 125,000 |
Idaho Forest Group |
Coeur d'Alene, |
ID |
$ 135,000 |
Yellowstone Power |
Emmet, |
ID |
$ 250,000 |
EcoPower Generation, LLC |
Lexington, |
KY |
$ 250,000 |
Stoltze Land & Lumber |
Columbia Falls, |
MT |
$ 190,720 |
Pyramid Mountain Lumber, Inc. |
Seeley Lake, |
MT |
$ 202,727 |
University of Montana |
Missoula, |
MT |
$ 250,000 |
Burrows Paper Corporation |
Little Falls, |
NY |
$ 250,000 |
New York Power Authority |
White Plains, |
NY |
$ 250,000 |
City of Vernonia |
Vernonia, |
OR |
$ 25,000 |
ColPac Quinault Indian Nation |
Montesano, |
WA |
$ 50,000 |
Thilmany LLC |
Kaukauna, |
WI |
$ 132,400 |
University of Wisconsin--Superior |
Superior, |
WI |
$ 250,000 |
View Woody Biomass Utilization Grant 2011 in a larger map
The table below shows the split of the grant money between the 9 Forest Service regions. California is Region 5 and came in the top 3 regions due to the great applications that were submitted. We would like to congratulate the successful California applicants (Trinity River Lumber, Placer County and Kiara Solar).
More information:
/small>2011 WBUG Grant Update
All Grant information workshops have been postponed as there is still no news on the status of the 2011 Forest Service Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program http://bit.ly/bFJhW4.
2010 WBU Grants Announced and Map
A couple of weeks ago Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced the successful projects for the 2010 Woody Biomass Utilization Grants. If you missed the announcement you can get to the USDA press release here: http://bit.ly/bz4wCo. Thirteen projects nationwide got part of $4.2m. Five of the grants went to California projects which is great news for the state. All of the successful California applicants attended our grant information workshops in Fall 2009. If the grant program runs in 2011 we will hold information workshops at a number of locations across the state. The first one is planned for Quincy on September 21 2010. The map below shows the 13 projects - you can click on the dollar signs for basic project information. You can click the link below the map if you want to see a larger version.View Woody Biomass Utilization Grant 2010 in a larger map
You can see that all the grants were given to projects in the western US. This makes sense as the program is orientated at developing markets for the material from forest health and fuels reduction projects. The process was very competitive this year with over 185 applications. Congratulations to the successful California projects!
Check back for information on if there will be a grant program in 2011 and for future workshops. Our WBU Grant information page is here: http://ucanr.org/WBUG/small>
Woody Biomass Utilization Grants - Update
We have been receiving a lot of questions regarding the status of the 2010 Woody Biomass Utilization Grant program. Currently the Forest Products Lab in Madison has received pre-applications and has distributed them to the review team.
The review takes place due the week commencing January 25 2010. Therefore you will not hear if your pre-application has been successful until sometime in February. Please be patient and remember that the time line for the program is in the application materials.
Approximately 200 applications were submitted nationally with around 25 from California. Therefore competition will be tough.