Farm Energy

Thursday, April 26, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ELPC Commends Senate Agriculture Committee Support of Homegrown Energy

WASHINGTON – The Senate Agriculture Committee took an important step to support America’s farmers, renewable homegrown energy, rural development and national security by funding core energy programs through a Farm Bill amendment passed today.

“We commend Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and the bipartisan group of 11 Senators who supported a bipartisan amendment supporting mandatory funding for programs that reduce dependence on polluting fossil fuels and help farmers cut energy costs and produce innovative renewable energy for America,” said Andy Olsen, Senior Policy Advocate with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

“The state of the economy and our continuing energy challenges underscore the need for programs like the REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) and  BCAP (Biomass Crop Assistance Program) which generate rural development and provide a safety net to farmers,” Olsen said.

“We thank the energy title supporters, Senators Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) for their support of an Energy Title amendment that provides mandatory funding of these core energy programs,” Olsen added.

###

The Environmental Law & Policy Center is the Midwest’s leading environmental legal advocacy and eco-business innovation organization.

Midwest Energy News examines the importance the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) still holds for farmers by talking with Steve Flick, the founder of the Show Me Energy Cooperative and with Andy Olsen, a senior policy advocate with the Environmental Law & Policy Center.

“Olsen says biomass projects such as Show Me Energy serve multiple policy goals. They’re a source of cleaner-burning, homegrown energy, and the crops they use as feedstocks can help reduce soil erosion, improve air and water quality and conserve wildlife habitat.”

Read the story.

(February 8) On February 8, 2010, USDA issued its proposed rule to implement the 2008 Farm Bill’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).  In the same proposal USDA also terminated an interim funding program under BCAP which has cost the government far more than expected.

USDA is accepting public comments on its BCAP proposal through April 9, 2010. Here is a copy of the proposal (opens in new window); otherwise, read on for more information on the proposal. (more…)

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently visited the Flick Seed Company and Show Me Energy Cooperative as part of the Obama Administration’s Rural Tour. Secretary Vilsack praised the operation as a model to “create new opportunities in rural communities and new markets for farm products.”

Shortly after Secretary Vilsack’s visit, Show Me Energy Cooperative became the first in the nation to be approved under the USDA’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), providing a working model for sustainable biomass energy. Flick and his partners have developed an agricultural enterprise that provides jobs and increased income for growers – all while helping to slow global warming. (more…)

On June 12, 2009, the USDA issued a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Repowering Assistance, Section 9004 of the 2008 Farm Bill. Under this program, USDA will provide payments to rural biorefineries in existence before July 18, 2009, that replace fossil energy with biomass.

This program provides funding assistance for biorefineries to reduce their carbon footprint by replacing fossil fuels used in their heat and/or power process with renewable biomass. (more…)

ELPC’s John Moore recently sat down with Ethanol Producer Magazine to discuss the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. This new program, which ELPC supported in the 2008 Farm Bill, will help farmers located near biomass facilities to grow and process sustainably-grown energy crops. ELPC is working to jump-start this new program as quickly as possible.