[MPWG] Fwd: USDA Seeks Applications for Funding to Develop Advanced Biofuels and Plant-Based Products (TWO deadlines: Oct. 3, 2016 & Apr 3, 2017)

[De Angelis, Patricia]

Jim Duke always says that medicinal plant processing would lend itself to
biofuel production, since the bulk of the plant biomass still remains
following extraction..."medicine" for thought!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: USDA Office of Communications <usda at public.govdelivery.com>
Date: Mon, Jul 25, 2016 at 12:03 PM
Subject: USDA Seeks Applications for Funding to Develop Advanced Biofuels
and Plant-Based Products

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Release No. 0174.16
Contact:
Catherine Dugan (202) 720-0999

USDA Seeks Applications for Funding to Develop Advanced Biofuels and
Plant-Based Products

*Development Will Contribute to America's Strong Bioeconomy and Bring Jobs
to Rural Areas*


WASHINGTON, July 25, 2016 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today
announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking
applications for funding to help support the development of advanced
biofuels, renewable chemicals and biobased products.

"The bioeconomy is a catalyst for economic development in rural America,
creating new jobs and providing new markets for farmers and ranchers,"
Vilsack said. "Investing in the businesses and technologies that support
the production of biofuels and biobased products is not only good for farm
incomes. The whole economy benefits from a more balanced, diversified and
consumer-friendly energy portfolio, less dependence on foreign oil and
reduced carbon emissions."

Funding is being provided through the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and
Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program, formerly known as the
Biorefinery Assistance Program. Congress established the program in 2008 to
encourage the development of biofuels that use renewable feedstocks. The
2014 Farm Bill expanded the program to include renewable chemicals and
biobased product manufacturing. The program now provides loan guarantees of
up to $250 million to develop, construct and retrofit commercial-scale
biorefineries and to develop renewable chemicals and biobased product
manufacturing facilities.

USDA has provided $844 million in loan commitments to 10 businesses in the
Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing
Assistance Program since the start of the Obama administration. Companies
receiving these commitments are projected to produce 159 million gallons of
advanced biofuels.

In 2011, under this program, USDA provided Sapphire Energy a $54.5 million
loan guarantee to build a refined algal oil commercial facility. Sapphire's
"Green Crude Farm" in Columbus, N.M., is an example of how USDA funding and
partnerships with the private sector are helping to support the development
of biorefineries.

The plant opened in May 2012 and is producing renewable algal oil that can
be further refined to replace petroleum-derived diesel and jet fuel.
According to the company, more than 600 jobs were created during the first
phase of construction at the facility and 30 full-time employees currently
operate the plant. After Sapphire received additional equity from private
investors, it repaid the remaining balance on its USDA-backed loan in 2013.

USDA is helping to develop the bioeconomy, which has the potential to spur
unprecedented growth in the rural economy by creating opportunities for the
production, distribution and sale of biobased products and fuels. For
example, USDA has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Navy
to create advanced drop-in biofuels that will power both the Department of
Defense and private-sector transportation throughout America. Over the
course of this Administration, USDA has invested $332 million to accelerate
research on renewable energy ranging from genomic research on bioenergy
feedstock crops, to development of biofuel conversion processes and
cost/benefit estimates of renewable energy production. For more information
on how renewable energy factors into USDA's work to reduce greenhouse
gases, visit the latest chapter of USDA's Medium entry, How Food and
Forestry Are Adapting to a Changing Climate
<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTYwNzI1LjYxOTMyNzMxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE2MDcyNS42MTkzMjczMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3NzQxMTI2JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&101&&&http://bit.ly/results-ch5>
.

The Department has also taken steps to support biobased product
manufacturing that promises to create new jobs across rural America –
including adding new categories of qualified biobased products for Federal
procurement and establishing reporting by Federal contractors of biobased
product purchases. The more than 2,200 products that have received
certification to display the USDA Certified Biobased Product label are
creating and increasing consumer and commercial awareness about a
material's biobased content as one measure of its environmental footprint.
A 2015 USDA study
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of the bioeconomy found that the biobased products industry generates $369
billion and 4 million jobs each year for our economy. Biobased products
industries directly employ approximately 1.5 million people, while an
additional 2.5 million jobs are supported in other sectors.

For this announcement, USDA will seek applications in two cycles.
Applications for the first funding cycle are due October 3, 2016.
Applications for the second cycle are due April 3, 2017. For more
information, see page 48377 of the July 25, 2016, Federal Register
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Application materials can be found on USDA's Rural Development website
<http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTYwNzI1LjYxOTMyNzMxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE2MDcyNS42MTkzMjczMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3NzQxMTI2JmVtYWlsaWQ9UGF0cmljaWFfRGVBbmdlbGlzQGZ3cy5nb3YmdXNlcmlkPVBhdHJpY2lhX0RlQW5nZWxpc0Bmd3MuZ292JmZsPSZleHRyYT1NdWx0aXZhcmlhdGVJZD0mJiY=&&&104&&&http://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/biorefinery-renewable-chemical-and-biobased-product-manufacturing-assistance>
.

In October 2015, Rural Development implemented a redesigned two-phase
application process. This new process helps the Agency identify the
projects that have made the most progress in the development stage and have
the greatest capacity for implementation and loan closing. The first two
application cycles under the new process yielded complete applications from
projects producing biogas, biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol, biobased
lubricants and oils, lignin cake and syrup, and fertilizers.

Eligible borrowers include individuals, corporations, federally-recognized
tribes, units of state or local government, farm cooperatives and co-op
organizations, associations of agricultural producers, national
laboratories, institutions of higher education, rural electric
cooperatives, public power entities – or a consortium of any of these
borrower types. Entities that receive program financing must provide at
least 20 percent of the funding for eligible project costs.

Since 2009, USDA Rural Development (@USDARD
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has invested $11 billion to start or expand 103,000 rural businesses;
helped 1.1 million rural residents buy homes; funded nearly 7,000 community
facilities such as schools, public safety and health care facilities;
financed 185,000 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines; and
helped bring high-speed Internet access to nearly 6 million rural residents
and businesses. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/results
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.

#




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*USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of
discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil
Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC
20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800)
877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).*
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