BIOMASS HUB

In a recent news release from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agency highlights how biomass producers, energy facilities, and communities are benefiting from the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).

BCAP authorized USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to provide matching payments for the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation of eligible biomass delivered to approved facilities to convert it to biofuels.  FSA service centers have issued payments of up to $45 per dry ton for eligible biomass deliveries.

Through April 2, 2010, USDA reports that is has approved 4,605 agreements for the delivery of more than 4.18 million tons of biomass and paid eligible biomass owners $165,274,695 in matching payments under BCAP’s first phase.

Under the program, biomass means any organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis including: agricultural commodities, plants, trees, algae, and other animal, vegetative, and wood waste materials.

BCAP is part of a congressional effort to encourage farmers and forest landowners to help develop the biomass supply chain and accelerate energy independence, rural economic development, and renewable sources of energy.  BCAP matching payments began after a notice of funding availability was issued June 11, 2009, pursuant to President Obama’s May 2009 directive.  The proposed rule to implement the full BCAP was announced in early February 2010, with a 60-day public comment period ending April 9, 2010.

After reviewing the comments, FSA will issue a final rule for the BCAP program this year.  The final rule will provide funding for producers of renewable biomass who establish new biomass crops within select geographical areas and will continue to provide matching payments for deliveries of eligible materials.

In its report, USDA provides examples of existing programs receiving funding under BCAP:

• Show Me Energy Cooperative (Centerview, MO) — comprised of 600 Midwestern farmers-owners, was the first facility to see matching payments paid out for biomass material deliveries.
• Hardwood Products Company (Guilford, ME) — General Manager & Chief Operating Officer Terry Young said BCAP enabled his company to hire 62 employees in Maine’s poorest county where unemployment rates were the highest.  BCAP payments gave the company a chance to lower prices and be competitive internationally.
• Bamford Company (Butte County, CA) — a small lumber operation, has been BCAP funds to deal with its scorched private forestlands.  BCAP has made it economically feasible for Bamford to convert 15,500 dry tons of charred timber into clean energy. The company collected, chipped and delivered their partially-burned biomass to a nearby conversion facility, enabling Bamford to keep 37 employees on the payroll.  Using the damaged timber for electrical generation helps California utilities meet mandates for renewable fuels and avoids the air pollution that would be caused by burning the charred material in the forest, which is the standard practice for disposal.
• Armstrong — a well-established name in the flooring business, is the largest flooring company in the country.  It produces hundreds of thousands of tons of sawdust each year.  Because of BCAP, Armstrong can now transport its excess sawdust to qualified biomass conversion facilities in five states.  This provides more feedstock needed for alternatives for energy facilities while helping Armstrong remove excessive waste through expanded distribution networks that previously were not economically feasible.

More background information on BCAP.

Image: Flickr/skasuga