USDA Approves $25M Loan Guarantee For California Biomass Gasification Project

The USDA has announced it will provide a $25 million loan guarantee under the Rural Development Timber Production Expansion Program (TPEP) to finance a 3 MW biomass gasification project in California under development by Blue Mountain Electric Co. LLC to convert forestry biomass waste into synthetic natural gas through the process of thermochemical conversion. 

The total project cost is estimated at $42.2 million. According to USDA, the loan guarantee will support construction of the facility and provide working capital for operating expenses during the first year. 

The loan guarantee for Blue Mountain Electric’s proposed project is one of 12 projects that will share in $115.2 million awarded by the USDA on March 23 through TPEP, which aims to ensure sawmills and other wood processing facilities have the necessary funding to establish, reopen, expand, or improve their operations.

Latest news

Georgia Power Seeking Biomass Plant Bids

Georgia’s Public Service Commission recently voted to allow major utility Georgia Power to solicit bids for a new 50MW biomass-powered power plant. The move is part of a Georgia Power effort to purchase more energy from a variety of sources as the company seeks to retire some of its older power generating facilities. In addition to biomass, the utility is also looking at streams turbine, battery energy storage…

read more

Cousineau Plans Rebuild After May Fire

The owner of Cousineau Forest Products, Randy Cousineau, says the company is rebuilding after a late May fire at its wood processing facility in Henniker, NH. According to Cousineau, the fire caused $500,000 in damages at the plant that produces playground surfacing materials, biomass fuel, chips and bark mulch. The facility has brought in mobile equipment to continue some operations during a rebuild that’s complicated…

read more

Forbes Is Sole Owner Of Brunette

Brunette Machinery Co. Inc. announced that Kirk Forbes has concluded the purchase of shares from his business partners and is now the sole owner of Brunette, which is celebrating more than 75 years in supplying the wood products business…

read more

Enviva Announces Acquisitions

Enviva is expanding its footprint in the south once again through acquisitions—this time with the purchase of Georgia Biomass in Waycross, Ga., which was commissioned in April 2011, with associated export terminal capacity in Savannah, Ga. for $175 million in cash. The Waycross facility has an annual production capacity of 750,000 MTPY. This announcement comes after Enviva purchased the pellet plant in Greenwood, SC…

read more

Find Us On Social

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Wood Bioenergy News Online hits the inboxes of subscribers in the wood-to-energy sectors.

Subscribe/Renew

Wood Bioenergy is published and delivered worldwide 6 times per year. Free to qualified readers in the U.S. Subscribers outside the U.S. are asked to pay a small fee.

Advertise

Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative.