- PROMOTES BIOMASS CROP PRODUCTION, HARVESTING, PROCESSING: The bill creates and fully funds a program to encourage farmers to establish and grow biomass crops in areas around biomass facilities such as biorefineries. It also provides matching payments to producers for harvest, transport and storage of biomass delivered to such a facility.
- PROVIDES BIOMASS LOAN GUARANTEES: The bill provides $320 million in mandatory funding for loan guarantees for commercial scale biorefineries for advanced biofuels. The maximum guaranteed loan amount is $250 million and 80 percent of total project costs, with up to 90 percent of that guaranteed.
- SUPPORTS RURAL RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY: The energy title provides $250 million in mandatory funding to provide grants and loan guarantees for renewable energy and energy efficiency systems for farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses. This program leverages on average ten times the federal funding it receives. The mandatory funding in the bill will more than double the amount previously spent on these projects.
- ASSISTS CONVERSTION TO BIOMASS ENERGY: The bill provides $35 million in mandatory funding for grants to support repowering of existing biorefineries with biomass energy systems.
- ENCOURAGES PRODUCTION OF ADVANCED BIOFUELS: Included in the energy title is $300 million in mandatory funding for payments to support the production of advanced biofuels, including biodiesel and cellulosic biofuels.
- EXPANDS BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: The Biomass Research and Development program is the premier biomass energy research program; it is administered jointly with the Department of Energy. The bill continues this program and provides $118 million in mandatory funding, which more than doubles current funding.
- CONTINUES BIODIESEL FUEL EDUCATION INITIATIVE: Competitive grants to educate the public about effective biodiesel use and the benefits of biodiesel are continued with funding of $1 million per year.
- STRENGTHENS THE FEDERAL PROCUREMENT AND LABELING PROGRAM FOR BIOBASED PRODUCTS: The energy title amends the current biobased products federal purchase preference and labeling programs to include intermediate ingredients and feedstocks and provide for automatic designation for items composed of high levels of these feedstocks. Also sets a deadline for implementation of the biobased product labeling program and increases funding for this program to $2 million per year.
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