Making the Most of Wood Energy

As part of the national observance of Earth Day, the U.S. Forest Service recently announced that it is seeking proposals that expand wood energy use and support responsible forest management.

The U.S. Forest Service requests proposals for their Hazardous Fuels Wood-to-Energy Grant program. The program will provide about $2.8 million to help applicants complete the engineering design work needed to apply for public or private loans for construction and long-term financing of wood energy facilities. In addition, the agency announced $1.7 million in funding availability under the Statewide Wood Energy Team cooperative agreement program inviting public-private teams to seek funding to advance wood energy. Activities may include workshops that provide technical, financial and environmental information, preliminary engineering assessments, and community outreach needed to support development of wood energy projects.

For more information visit na.fs.fed.us/werc; applicants may submit their applications through grants.gov.

Also, the Forest Service released a Wood Energy Financial App for use by community and business leaders seeking to replace fossil fuel with wood energy. The app, available at woodenergy.umn.edu, does a quick analysis for users to see if wood energy is a viable alternative for their community or small business.