USDA adds four more Biomass Crop Assistance Program project areas
26 July 2011
The US Department of Agriculture has created four additional Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) project areas (earlier post) in six states to expand the availability of non-food crops to be used in the manufacturing of liquid biofuels. The four project areas set aside acres in California, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Washington for the production of renewable energy crops. According to industry estimates, these projects will provide the feedstocks to produce more than 2 million gallons of biofuels annually when full production levels are achieved.
Two of the new BCAP project areas, targeted for California, Montana, Washington and Oregon, will grow camelina at a significant scale. Camelina, an oilseed, is a rotation crop for wheat that can be established on marginally productive land. Biofuel from camelina is an ideal jet fuel substitute, and the announcement of these projects coincides with the first anniversary of a joint announcement by USDA, the Boeing Corporation and the Air Transportation Association on an initiative to bring sustainable and renewable aviation fuels to the marketplace.
The project has a target of 51,000 acres. The sponsors are Beaver Biodiesel, LLC and AltAir Fuels LLC. The project areas are near biomass conversion facilities in Bakersfield, Calif., Tacoma, Wash., and Albany, Ore.
Another BCAP project area, part of an effort sponsored by cellulosic biofuels company ZeaChem, will encourage growth of hybrid poplar trees in Oregon. The goal is to enroll up to 7,000 acres. This project is part of a series of measures that comprise USDA’s Wood-to-Energy Initiative. It seeks to build a forest restoration economy by integrating energy feedstock within the larger forest products sector to sustain rural jobs and prosperity. The project area surrounds a biomass conversion facility in Boardman, Ore.
Additionally, a BCAP project area in Kansas and Oklahoma, sponsored by Abengoa Biofuels, has been designated to grow up to 20,000 acres of switchgrass. The project area surrounds the future facility’s biomass conversion facility in Hugoton, Kan.
USDA has allocated approximately $45 million for contracts that range between less than five years up to 15 years in the four project areas for producers who volunteer to enroll in BCAP. Producers who enter into BCAP contracts are eligible for reimbursements of up to 75% of the establishment costs of the perennial energy crop, and up to five years of annual maintenance payments for herbaceous crops and up to 15 years for woody crops. According to industry estimates, more than 3,400 jobs in the biorefinery, agriculture and supporting sectors will be created due to these new BCAP project areas.
Earlier this year, USDA announced five BCAP project areas where energy crops will be grown on up to 250,000 acres in 66 counties in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Ohio. These crops, such as switchgrass and giant miscanthus, are the first-ever national investments in expanding US biomass resources.
The sign-up period for these four new project areas will begin on 8 Aug. 2011. The deadline to sign up for the project areas is Friday, 16 Sept. 2011. The Farm Service Agency, administering the program on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation with conservation planning assistance from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and other partners, will enter into contracts with landowners and operators in these project areas. Producers interested in participating in the project areas should visit their local FSA county office.
The US government is now heading towards a shut down because the major parties cannot agree on where and if to stop spending money. Because of the lack of land area and the fertility of the land areas, biofuels have been destroying the natural ecology for thousands of years, starting even before the Roman Empire laid waste to North Africa. There is not enough land for the agricultural production of even a small fraction of the energy used by the nations of the earth, not even in the US. If solar energy is to be used, then the use of parabolic solar collectors is more efficient and cheaper and more direct. Some such units are being produced very near the US state of Oregon by the INFINIA company. High temperature electrolysis can produce hydrogen more efficiently which can be used to make liquid fuels if necessary, but even lead batteries can be used in automobiles for a far more efficient use of electricity. ..HG..
Posted by: Henry Gibson | 27 July 2011 at 08:16 AM
ELIMINATE the BCAP.
Posted by: ejj | 31 July 2011 at 09:25 AM