Renewable Energy
The Association will use this space to provide members with timely information on potential grants or incentive programs relating to wood-based energy initiatives.
NEW!
Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund
EDA’s Global Climate Change Mitigation Incentive Fund (GCCMIF) assistance is available to finance a wide-range of projects, from strategy development to construction. To access the GCCMIF, an applicant must provide appropriate information to allow EDA to verify that the proposed project fulfills the objectives of the fund by both project type AND project output. Specifically, the applicant must demonstrate that the project will be one of the following project types:
-Renewable Energy - The development, production, or use of energy derived from sources that do not deplete finite natural resources, including wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy.
-Energy Efficiency - A reduction in the energy produced or the energy consumed for the same level of output with the goal of lowering energy costs.
-Reuse/Recycling/Restoration - The reuse of a given product (or products), or production of a new or innovative product from recyclable materials. This might include waste management practices that reduce raw material usage and the amount of waste that ends-up in landfills. This category also includes ecosystem restoration.
-Green Building - New construction or renovation that is certified by the US Green Building Council’s under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEEDTM) or other comparable certification program.
-Development and/or manufacture of a green end-product - Investments that produce an end-product that furthers or contributes to sustainability in general and/or the environmental quality of the associated community or region. The ‘end-product’ can take numerous forms (i.e., activity, item, plan, or program).
- Greening of an existing function or process - Investments that result in green enhancements to the resource, energy, water, and/or waste, etc. efficiency of an existing function or process. The ‘enhancements’ reflect changes to the life-cycle process of an existing function so that the function is performed in a more sustainable manner.
- Creation or renovation of a green building - Investments that result in the construction or renovation of a structure using green building techniques that result in a net positive outcome in terms of energy, materials, and/or water use efficiency. Such buildings or structures must have LEED or other comparable green building certification.
For more detailed information visit this website
Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP)
USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced the beginning of the application process for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). This program, which will provide matching payments for the collection, harvest, and storage (CHST) of eligible material delivered to biomass conversion facilities, was established by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. At a rate of $1 for $1 per dry-ton equivalent, the matching CHST payments are capped at $45 per dry-ton equivalent. For more information on BCAP, biomass conversion facilities and material owners or producers should contact their FSA state office or visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov.
Florida State Foresters Letter of Approved Practice Plans for Private Forests
BCAP Enrollment Information
In order to participate, a facility must meet certain requirements and enroll in the program. The facility must enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Farm Services Agency (FSA) and agree to provide certain documents to the seller of the material and keep specific records available for inspection by the FSA. All of the necessary information to participate in the program is available through the links below.
Certification for Covered Transactions
Department of Energy
The DOE has announced the long-awaited first two solicitations under the section 1705 loan guarantee program for demonstration projects using commercially proven technologies. These will provide up to $30 Billion in directly funded loan guarantees for innovative energy efficiency, alternative energy, advanced transmission and distribution, and transmission infrastructure in a set of six 45-day application windows. The full solicitation is available at http://www.lgprogram.energy.gov/2009-CPLX-TRANS-sol.pdf.
Payments in lieu of tax credits for specified energy property
With the goal of expanding development of renewable energy projects throughout the United States and creating new jobs, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced they are now accepting applications for a program that will make direct payments in lieu of tax credits to payments in lieu of tax credits for specified energy property. The two Departments estimate distributing at least $3 billion in financial support to approximately 5,000 bio-mass, solar, wind, and other types of renewable energy production facilities. The funding for this effort is made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act authorized Treasury to make direct payments to companies that create and place in service renewable energy facilities beginning January 1, 2009. Previously, these companies could file for a tax credit to cover a portion of the renewable energy project’s cost; under the new program, applicants would agree to forgo future tax credits in favor of an immediate reimbursement of a portion of the property expense. The Energy Department will assist Treasury in implementing this program by reviewing the technical merits of the applications. In previous years, the tax credit has been widely used. Companies interested in applying for the program can visit https://treas1603.nrel.gov/ for more information.
