FINANCE The USDA also offers funding, including the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, which supports production of biomass crops by assisting with collection, harvest, storage and transportation of eligible material for use in biomass conversion facilities. Other USDA programs include the Biorefinery Assistance Loan Guarantee Program, which provides grants for demonstration-scale biorefineries and loan guarantees for commercial-scale biorefineries that produce advanced biofuels. The program includes a guaranteed loan limitation of $250 million, according to the USDA, and up to 50 percent of project costs at the pilot or demonstration scale. Mandatory funding for 2009 is $75 million, and $245 million is available for 2010 until expended. The USDA’s Repowering Assistance Program provides payments to biorefineries to replace fossil fuels with renewable biomass to produce heat or power. The program provides $35 million for 2009 that is available until exhausted, with $20 million still available, according to the USDA, and provides additional funding of $15 million per year through 2012. The Notice of Solicitation of Applications was published in June. The Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels provides payments to eligible producers to support and ensure expanded production of advanced biofuels. Mandatory funding for the program in both 2009 and 2010 is $55 million, increasing to $85 million in 2011 and $105 million in 2012. The Notice of Contract Proposals for the Bioenergy Program was also published in June. The Biomass Research and Development program supports research, development and demonstration of biobased products, biofuels and biopower. Eligible recipients include institutions of higher learning, national laboratories, federal research agencies, state research agencies, private-sector entities and nonprofit organizations. Finally, the Rural Energy for America Program issues grants and loan guarantees to assist agricultural producers and rural small
businesses with energy efficiency improvements. It also establishes a grant program for energy audits, technical assistance and feasibility studies. The loan guarantee limit is $25 million or 75 percent of the project costs, according to the USDA. Mandatory funding for 2009 totaled $55 million and will increase to $60 million for 2010 and $70 million for 2011, with discretionary funding of up to $25 million each fiscal year through 2012. The Notice of Solicitation of Applications was published in May. Viability LLC, a firm that helps companies prepare and submit grant applications, recently secured $1.3 million in grants from the program for its clients and leveraged $31.5 million in overall project investment, the company reports. For more information on all USDA funding opportunities, visit www.usda.gov.
Other Options Viability prepares grant applications for state and federal programs including tax credits and carbon credits. The firm has assisted with about 30 biomass projects, since its establishment six years ago, ranging from $3,500 to about $10 million in grants, loans and carbon credits for one project, according to Viability President Chris Byrnes. The company also writes grants for other renewable energy projects and has a 70 percent success rate with federal grants, compared with a success rate of 10 percent for most federal grant applications, he says. Most of Viability’s clients come through word-of-mouth, Byrnes says, or are referred by their vendors. “A lot of our business is in agriculture and natural resources,” he says. With grant applications, the firm charges 10 percent of the asking amount, half when the grant application is submitted and the other half if and when it’s awarded. If the grant is not awarded, the other half of the fee is not collected, Byrnes says. Carbon credits have a slightly different fee structure and loan guarantee fees are much less.
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800-366-2563 | 319-232-8444 | WWW.CPMROSKAMP.COM WATERLOO, IOWA 28 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 12|2009