FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

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FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Texas Renewable Energy Incentives

Energy Policy Act of 2005 Tax Credits
Several articles on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 Tax Credits.

Texas Biofuel Incentive Program  
In 2006, to encourage the production of biofuel in Texas, the Texas Department of Agriculture created the Texas Biofuel Incentive Program. The program allows for Texas biofuel producers to register with the department to become eligible to receive grants based on the amount of biofuel produced by their facilities. Qualified producers will receive 20 cents per gallon of ethanol or biodiesel produced, limited to the first 18 million gallons produced per year for the first 10 years. At this web site, applicants can obtain guidelines and a registration form for the program, or they may call (877) 428-7848. 

RFF Offering Its First Grants for Ethanol Production
The Renewable Fuels Foundation (RFF) seeks to provide funding to U.S. universities and non- profit organizations for research projects and policy studies related to ethanol production. The RFF intends to award one grant for $150,000, spread over two years. RFF will review proposals on a continual basis.  However, research projects are funded once each year.  Research project proposals must have a national implication, not local. The RFF is the education and research arm of the Renewable Fuels Association.

USDA Renewable Energy Energy Efficiency Program
Section 9006 of the 2002 Farm Bill requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create a program to make direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to purchase renewable-energy systems and make energy-efficiency improvements. This program is known as the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program.  Eligible renewable energy projects include wind, solar, biomass and geothermal; and hydrogen derived from biomass or water using wind, solar or geothermal energy sources.

USDA has funded more than 400 loans and grants since the renewable energy program began in FY 2003.  To date, the Bush Administration has invested through this program nearly $66.7 million in 36 states.  This program can assist farmers, ranchers, and small rural businesses develop renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements to their operations.  During Fiscal Year 2006, Texas provided nearly 1.7 million for this program. For further information regarding this program contact the USDA Rural Development at (254) 742-9780. Also see USDA Energy Initiatives, and the USDA Rural Development Texas State Office.

USDA Biobased Products and Bioenergy Program
The goal of the Biobased Products and Bioenergy Program is to finance technologies needed to convert biomass into biobased products and bioenergy in a manner which is cost-competitive in large national and international markets. Loans for biomass conversion into biobased products and bioenergy are eligible for financing under the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program.

USDA Energy Matrix
This USDA web site offers comprehensive information on energy-related programs, funding opportunities, and technical support across all USDA agencies and offices.

Loan Guarantee Solicitation for Innovative Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and Advanced Transmission and Distribution Technologies
DE-FOA-0000005
Application Due Date: 12/31/2008
DOE is offering $10 billion in loan guarantees for projects involving energy efficiency, renewable energy, and advanced transmission and distribution. The agency is seeking projects relating to biomass, geothermal, solar, and wind energy, as well as projects involving hydropower, alternative fuel vehicles, and energy efficiency. In addition to general energy efficiency projects, the solicitation specifically requests projects relating to energy efficient building technologies and efficient electricity transmission, distribution, and storage. DOE intends to issue loan guarantees for stand-alone projects, as well as projects relating to manufacturing technologies and the large-scale integration of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage technologies into the electrical grid. DOE's Loan Guarantee Program was established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and is intended only for projects that avoid, reduce, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions and employ "new or significantly improved technologies as compared to commercial technologies in service in the United States." More information about this solicitation and the Department’s Loan Guarantee Program is available on the Program's website.

New "Freedom Prizes" to Reward Innovative Energy Deployments
Application Due Date:January 2009
DOE and the Freedom Prize Foundation announced last week that more than $4 million will be awarded to efforts that reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil while enhancing the nation's security, economic prosperity, and health. The new "Freedom Prize" will provide awards of $500,000 to $1 million for the innovative deployment of existing technologies in each of five broad categories: industry, K-12 schools, the military, state and local governments, and communities. Final guidelines and application instructions for the prize will be released this fall, and applications will be due in January 2009, culminating in the award of the prizes in spring. The Freedom Prize was established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which authorized DOE to support the prize.

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BIOMASS EVENTS

EPA's Landfill Methane Outreach Program's Workshops & Conferences

Renewable Energy Roundup and Green Living Fair
Market Square
Fredericksburg, Texas
September 26-28, 2008
The Roundup is in its 9th year and continuing to grow. Come share knowledge and learn about these topics: Solar - Wind - Geothermal - Water Use & Reuse - Energy Conservation - Rainwater Harvesting - Green & Sustainable Building - Organic Growing - Alternative Transportation - Straw Bale Construction - Exhibits - Free Guest Speakers - Natural Food - Family Activities.

Advanced Biofuels Workshop and Trade Show
Minneapolis Convention Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota 
September 28-30, 2008
The federal renewable fuels standard requires 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels to be produced by 2022. The conference will address where and how these biofuels will be produced and marketed. Workshops will focus on a number of topics, including future feedstock options, managing feedstock logistics, markets for advanced biofuels. One workshop will give investors, project developers, engineering companies, technology providers, feedstock suppliers and policymakers a glimpse at the future of biofuel technology.

Texas Renewables 2008
OMNI Austin Hotel Southpark
Austin, Texas
November 9-11, 2008
This conference is offered annually by the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association. The agenda for this year's Texas Renewables 2008 conference is already being developed.  The pricing, agenda, accomodations and other details will be posted later in the year and members and exhibitors will be able to register online or via regular mail. Until additional details are announced, please save the dates and plan to join us in November in Austin.

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BIOMASS NEWS

Texas HB 1090: Biomass Power Generation and Revised Renewable Energy Requirements
During its 80th Legislative Session, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 1090, which authorizes $30 million annually for Department of Agriculture grants to farmers, loggers, and diverters who provide qualified agricultural biomass, forest wood waste, urban wood waste, or storm-generated biomass debris to facilities that use biomass to generate electrical energy.

EPA Delays RFS2 Rule July 2008
This is a Biodiesel Magazine article. The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a subcommittee hearing July 10 to discuss the renewable fuels standard (RFS) enacted in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and how the U.S. EPA plans to implement the second stage of the RFS enacted in the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 (RFS2).

Biométhodes, Virginia Tech Sign Biomass Agreement July 2008
French biotechnology company Biométhodes has signed an exclusive worldwide option-to-license agreement with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Inc. for multiple technologies designed to convert biomass into ethanol and biobased hydrogen.

Emissions-Free Waste Management Coming to Killeen June 2008
The City of Kileen has donated 40 acres of land to ZEROS (Zero-emissions Energy Recycling Oxidation System) to build a zero waste emissions-free power plant near the Williamson County landfill. The plant was designed at Texas A&M University. ZEROS will use leading edge technology to convert solid waste from the land fill into electricity and other useable byproducts. The plant will use an oxygenated system to convert as much as 300,000 tons of garbage annually into electricity with zero emissions. Killeen was chosen because it met the criteria to provide the waste as fuel. In return, the company has agreed to sell back to the city at a reduced rate byproducts such as diesel fuel, gasoline and clean water which can be used to irrigate dry areas and be recycled into municipal water systems. The estimated cost of $250 million to $300 million will be provided by private investors. The plant is expected to create 200 jobs in Killeen while reducing the city's landfill waste treatment costs from $20 to $24 per ton to $10 per ton. The processing plant won’t begin to be fired for at least another three years.

New Biodiesel Standard Allows Automaker Approval of 20% Blends June 2008
ASTM International, one of the largest standards development organizations in the world, has approved a new specification for diesel fuel blends containing 6%-20% biodiesel. According to the National Biodiesel Board (NBB), ASTM standards for the 20% biodiesel blends, or B20, are a crucial hurdle for the full acceptance of the use of such blends in diesel vehicles. With the new specification in place, automakers and engine manufacturers can test B20 in their diesel engines and know that consumers will be fueling their vehicle with a fuel of the same quality. While setting the new B20 standard, ASTM International also made changes to its specifications for B5 and for 100% biodiesel, or B100.

Farm Bill 2008 Speeds Advanced Biofuels Commercialization May 2008
Congress has passed the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, the new farm bill that will accelerate the commercialization of advanced biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol, encourage the production of biomass crops, and expand the current Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Program. Section 9003 provides for grants covering up to 30% of the cost of developing and building demonstration-scale biorefineries for producing "advanced biofuels," which essentially includes all fuels that are not produced from corn kernel starch. It also allows for loan guarantees of up to $250 million for building commercial-scale biorefineries to produce advanced biofuels. For bill details, see this DOE article.

Renewable Manure: Turning Waste into Clean Energy March 2008
With funding from the Texas State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), Texas Tech will develop an economic model and the cost feasibility structure for an interdependent system combining feed manufacturing, aquaculture, and feedlot production systems with the conversion of biomass into energy while effectively treating a waste stream. The modeling will incorporate marketing, transportation, and manufacturing aspects of the system. Utilizing biomass to create a source of income would be a positive strategy for ginners and livestock producers. Moreover, creating such a system would greatly reduce the negative environmental impact these industries have on our soil and water resources in Texas.

DOE and USDA to Invest Up to $18.4 Million in Biomass Projects February 2008
DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced yesterday that they will invest up to $18.4 million in 31 biomass research, development, and demonstration projects over the next three years.

IRS Allocates $406 Million in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds February 2008
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced last week that it has allocated $406 million in Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) for a total of 312 renewable energy projects to be located throughout the United States. The new bond allocations range from $15,000 to $30 million and are set aside for 139 solar energy facilities, 102 wind power installations, 45 landfill gas facilities, 18 hydropower plants, 5 biomass power plants, and 3 trash combustion facilities

DOE to Invest $114 Million in Small-Scale Cellulosic Biorefineries January 2008
DOE announced on Tuesday that it will invest $114 million in four small-scale biorefinery projects over four years. These small-scale biorefineries will use a wide range of feedstocks to test conversion technologies for the production of cellulosic ethanol. See DOE Biomass Program's description of the Fischer-Tropsch process.

DOE Invests $7.7 Million in Biomass Gasification for Biofuels December 2007
DOE has announced that four cellulosic biofuel projects will receive up to $7.7 million in funding over the next three years. When combined with the industry cost share, more than $15.7 million will be invested in the four projects from fiscal year 2008 to fiscal year 2010.

U.S. & China Cooperate on Biomass Research and Development December 2007
The U.S. and the People's Republic of China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote further research into and greater use of biomass. The new MOU is mainly intended to advance the research and development of biofuels, particularly cellulosic biofuel.

Dallas Zoo to Transform Dung into Power November 2007
The Dallas Zoo could someday be powered in part by Jenny and Keke's elephant jung, which totals more than 300 pounds a day. It will be used to help create heating, water and electric power at the zoo through a new biogas facility that will help power several buildings at the zoo and provide irrigation to the landscaping.  

Texas A&M & Ceres Develop/Market Sorghum for Biofuels October 2007
Energy crop company Ceres, Inc. and the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station of The Texas A&M University System announced today that they have entered into an exclusive, multi-year joint research and commercialization agreement for high biomass sorghum.

Nation's First Switchgrass-to-Ethanol Plant Planned October 2007
Mascoma Corporation announced last week that it plans to work with the University of Tennessee to build the nation's first facility for converting switchgrass into ethanol.

The Sustainability of a Bioeconomy September 2007
This spring farmers responded to the ethanol industry's demand for grain by increasing their corn acreage by 19 percent over last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates.

Texas Biogas Plant Uses Dairy Cow Manure to Make Methane August 2007
A manure-to-gas digester in Texas is creating methane from dairy cow manure. The methane is purified, compressed, and fed into a natural gas pipeline that carries it to Austin, Texas. There, the Lower Colorado River Authority uses the methane as fuel to produce electricity The plant not only produces a renewable fuel, it also creates fertilizer, reduces emissions of methane, and reduces pollution to the local watershed.

Texas Sorghum Producers Optimistic About Biofuel Potential August 2007
A Southwest Farm Press article.

UTPB Supports Biomass Fuel Research August 2007
The University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) is supporting biomass fuel research.

Governor Perry Rolls Out Texas' Bioenergy Strategy July 2007
Texas Governor Rick Perry announced the Texas Bioenergy Strategy, and awarded a $5 million Texas Emerging Technology Fund grant to Texas A&M University for research and biofuel advancements. In a four year project, Texas A&M University and the Chevron Corroboration are partnering on research efforts to find ways to speed up harvesting of cellulose crops and turning them into biofuels. The Governor said that Texas will focus on creating biofuels through cellulosic feedstock such as switchgrass, wood chips and corn stems - rather than from corn crops, which are a staple for the Texas cattle industry.

American Biofuels Council Founded June 2007
In the first major initiative to build a grassroots communications network for the advancement of biofuels adoption, a new national association called The American Biofuels Council (ABC) has been formed. ABC is the first national major initiative to build a grassroots communications network for the advancement of biofuels adoption. See the ABC website.

DOE and USDA Award $8.3 Million for Biofuels Research June 2007
DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have jointly selected 11 projects to receive a total of $8.3 million for biofuels research. The projects selected will focus on research in biomass genomics that will accelerate the production of alternative fuels from woody plants such as cord grass, rice, switchgrass, sorghum, poplar, perennial grasses, alfalfa, and wheat. This is the second year of the program; last year, DOE and the USDA awarded nine grants totaling $5.7 million.

Conoco Phillips and Tyson to Turn Fat to Fuel April 2007
Conoco has formed a partnership with Tyson Foods to use animal fat to create renewable diesel fuel.

LFG for CHP April 2007
This is an article published in the March/April issue of the Distributed Energy magazine. The article focuses on a Wisconsin county that plans to use landfill emissions for its combined heat and power projects—and aims to save money in the bargain.

USDA Awards $6.2 million For Woody Biomass March 2007
Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced the award of $6.2 million in grants to more than two dozen small businesses and community groups to develop innovative uses for woody biomass, including renewable energy and new products, from national forests.

Corn Ethanol Production Increased 25 Percent in 2006 March 2007
The U.S. ethanol fuel industry produced 4.86 billion gallons of ethanol in 2006, a 24.3 percent increase over the previous year, according to data released by the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA).

Ethanol Plants May Need Another Billion Bushels of Corn After 2007 February 2007
A Southwest Farm Press article.

Producing Local Texas Crops for Ethanol Promoted January 2007
Biofuel advocates from Texas A&M and state agricultural organizations are on tour in Central Texas to get more farmers on board with providing ethanol-based fuels.

EPA Aims to Standardize Evaluations of Manure Digesters January 2007
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a new protocol that intends to help standardize the process used to evaluate the performance of anaerobic digestion systems.

Creating Ethanol from Trash January 2007
Researchers find a way to make liquid fuels from waste cheaply and without the pollution produced by earlier methods. A new system for converting trash into ethanol and methanol could help reduce the amount of waste piling up in landfills while displacing a large fraction of the fossil fuels used to power vehicles in the United States.

Reports Note Lessons Learned for Five Dairy Manure Digesters January 2007
Anaerobic digesters are gaining popularity throughout the United States as a means to convert manure to methane, which can fuel an electrical generator. The technology is particularly appealing to dairy farmers, since it provides a means of disposing of manure and avoiding odors while creating a usable energy source. But before taking the plunge themselves, dairy farmers would be well advised to study five evaluation reports on new dairy digester systems that were issued by the California Energy Commission (CEC) in December. See the five dairy reports on the CEC Web site.

Texas LCRA to Purchase Biogas for Natural Gas-fueled Power Plants December 2006
Gas produced by the anaerobic digestion of cow manure and other organic matter will soon help fuel some of the Lower Colorado River Authority’s (LCRA) power plants. Biogas is rich in methane (natural gas) and carbon dioxide and is considered a renewable fuel source.

Ag Groups Band Support for Biobased Economy June 2006
A coalition of farm groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Corn Growers and American Soybean Association (ASA) have joined forces to further policy development and usage of biobased products by joining the new Alliance for a Biobased Economy (ABE).

Trash Gas Is Energy Gold May 2006
The trash you toss in the garbage could end up powering your lights, computer and washing machine, because in the world of alternative energy, one man's trash is another man's treasure trove of fuel.

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