July 5, 2023
BY Erin Krueger
The USDA on June 23 awarded $30 million to seven projects under its Fertilizer Production Expansion Program and announced the agency is inviting public comments on 66 additional projects eligible to receive program funding, including those focused on anaerobic digestion and biochar.
The USDA announced the launch of FPEP in September 2022. The program aims to add innovative domestic fertilizer production capacity in the U.S. to increase availability and reduce costs. The agency initially announced plans to award $250 million in grants under the program, but soon doubled available funding to $500 million.
In March 2023, the USDA announced an initial round of FPEP awards, including a $4.9 million grant to expand an anaerobic digestion facility located in Missouri. On June 23, the agency awarded a combined $30 million to seven projects, including a $2.95 million award to Florida-based Sunshine Organics and Compost LLC to support the increased production of biochar and other products.
Anaerobic digestion and biochar projects are also among the 66 eligible projects for which the EPA is inviting public comments. Examples include projects under development by California-based Anaergia Nutrients LLC; Michigan-based Scenic View Dairy; Minnesota-based Nature Energy US LLC; North Carolina-based BioGas Corp.; and Virginia-based SWVA Biochar LLC.
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Additional information, including a full list of eligible projects, is available on the USDA website. Public comments can be filed through July 22.
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The U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) announced up to $23 million in funding to support research and development (R&D) of domestic chemicals and fuels from biomass and waste resources.
The U.S. DOE has announced its intent to issue funding to support high-impact research and development (R&D) projects in two priority areas: sustainable propane and renewable chemicals and algal system cultivation and preprocessing.
Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., in August introduced the Renewable Chemicals Act, a bill that aims to create a tax credit to support the production of biobased chemicals.
The Chemical Catalysis for Bioenergy Consortium, a consortium of the U.S. DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office, has launched an effort that aims to gather community input on the development of new biomass processing facilities.
USDA on March 8 celebrated the second annual National Biobased Products Day, a celebration to raise public awareness of biobased products, their benefits and their contributions to the U.S. economy and rural communities.