USDA Biorefinery Loan Guarantees to Coskata, Enerkem, INEOS Total $405 Million
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U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this past week announced three biofuels and biomass energy projects that will receive a total of $405 million in guarantee loans as part of the USDA, Washington, D.C., USA, Biorefinery Assistance program.
In rural western Alabama, Coskata Inc. will get a $250 million loan guarantee to construct and operate a cellulosic ethanol biorefinery facility. This 55-million gpy renewable biofuel project will use woody biomass to produce ethanol. In Pontotoc, Miss., Enerkem Corp. has been selected to receive an $80 million loan guarantee to build and operate a biorefinery that will be capable of producing 10 million gpy of advanced biofuel (cellulosic ethanol) per year by refining some 100,000 metric tons of dried and post-sorted municipal solid waste through a thermochemical cellulosic process.
In Vero Beach, Fla., the INEOS New Planet BioEnergy LLC has been selected to receive a $75 million loan guarantee to construct and operate a biorefinery capable of producing 8 million gpy of cellulosic ethanol and gross electricity production capacity of 6 MW. The feedstock for the process will include primarily vegetative waste (citrus and agricultural wastes), yard wastes, wood waste, and municipal solid waste.
As part of USDA's commitment to reduce America's dependence on imported oil by developing alternative, renewable energy sources, USDA says it will soon issue new rules for the Biorefinery Assistance Program, Section 9003; Repowering Assistance Program, Section 9004; and Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels Payments To Advanced Biofuel Producers, Section 9005. The new rules will provide additional opportunities for development of advanced biofuels projects. Vilsack also noted that on the same date the rule for Section 9005 is published, a Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for FY 2010 funds will also be published.
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