On June 11, 2009, the Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) announced that thirty projects, located in fourteen states, would receive $57 million in Recovery Act funding. Of these funds, $49 million will be for wood-to-energy grants and $8 million is for biomass utilization.
These funds will serve two important objectives. First, the funds will promote the development of biofuels from wood and stimulate renewable energy infrastructure. Second, the projects will create a market for low value woody biomass that would otherwise constitute fuel for wildfires.
For information about specific projects, please call the United States Forest Service or go to http://fs.usda.gov