7 USC 8113 – Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program
(a) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Community wood energy system
(A) In general
The term “community wood energy system” means an energy system that—
(i) produces thermal energy or combined thermal energy and electricity where thermal is the primary energy output;
(ii) services public facilities owned or operated by State or local governments (including schools, town halls, libraries, and other public buildings) or private or nonprofit facilities (including commercial and business facilities, such as hospitals, office buildings, apartment buildings, and manufacturing and industrial buildings); and
(iii) uses woody biomass, including residuals—
(I) that have not been adulterated with glue or other chemical treatments from wood processing facilities, as the primary fuel; and
(II) for which the use of that biomass for energy production does not cause conversion of forests to nonforest use.
(B) Inclusions
The term “community wood energy system” includes single-facility central heating, district heating systems serving multiple buildings, combined heat and electric systems where thermal energy is the primary energy output, and other related biomass energy systems.
(2) Innovative wood product facility
The term “innovative wood product facility” means a manufacturing or processing plant or mill that produces—
(A) building components or systems that use large panelized wood construction, including mass timber;
(B) wood products derived from nanotechnology or other new technology processes, as determined by the Secretary; or
(C) other innovative wood products that use low-value, low-quality wood, as determined by the Secretary.
(3) Mass timber
The term “mass timber” includes—
(A) cross-laminated timber;
(B) nail-laminated timber;
(C) glue-laminated timber;
(D) laminated strand lumber; and
(E) laminated veneer lumber.
(4) Program
The term “Program” means the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program established under subsection (b).
(b) Competitive grant program
Terms Used In 7 USC 8113
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish a competitive grant program to be known as the “Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program”.
(c) Matching grants
(1) In general
Under the Program, the Secretary shall make grants to cover not more than 35 percent of the capital cost for installing a community wood energy system or building an innovative wood product facility.
(2) Special circumstances
The Secretary may establish special circumstances, such as in the case of a community wood energy system project or innovative wood product facility project involving a school or hospital in a low-income community, under which grants under the Program may cover up to 50 percent of the capital cost.
(3) Source of matching funds
Matching funds required pursuant to this subsection from a grant recipient shall be derived from non-Federal funds.
(d) Project cap
The total amount of grants under the Program for a community wood energy system project or innovative wood product facility project may not exceed—
(1) in the case of grants under the general authority provided under subsection (c)(1), $1,000,000; and
(2) in the case of grants for which the special circumstances apply under subsection (c)(2), $1,500,000.
(e) Selection criteria
In selecting applicants for grants under the Program, the Secretary shall consider the following:
(1) The energy efficiency of the proposed community wood energy system or innovative wood product facility.
(2) The cost effectiveness of the proposed community wood energy system or innovative wood product facility.
(3) The extent to which the proposed community wood energy system or innovative wood product facility represents the best available commercial technology.
(4) The extent to which the proposed community wood energy system uses the most stringent control technology that has been required or achieved in practice for a wood-fired boiler of similar size and type.
(5)(A) The extent to which the proposed community wood energy system will displace conventional fossil fuel generation.
(B) Whether the proposed community wood energy system minimizes emission increases to the greatest extent possible.
(6) The extent to which the proposed community wood energy system will increase delivered thermal efficiency of the systems replaced.
(7) The extent to which the applicant has demonstrated a high likelihood of project success by completing detailed engineering and design work in advance of the grant application.
(8) Other technical, economic, conservation, and environmental criteria that the Secretary considers appropriate.
(f) Grant priorities
In selecting applicants for grants under the Program, the Secretary shall give priority to proposals that use the most stringent control technology that has been required or achieved in practice for a wood-fired boiler and—
(1) would be carried out in a location where markets are needed for the low-value, low-quality wood;
(2) would be carried out in a location with limited access to natural gas pipelines;
(3) would include the use or retrofitting (or both) of existing sawmill facilities located in a location where the average annual unemployment rate exceeded the national average unemployment rate by more than 1 percent during the previous calendar year; or
(4) would be carried out in a location where the project will aid with forest restoration.
(g) Limitations
(1) Capacity of community wood energy systems
A community wood energy system acquired with grant funds under the Program shall not exceed nameplate capacity of 5 megawatts of thermal energy or combined thermal and electric energy.
(2) Funding for innovative wood product facilities
Not more than 25 percent of funds provided as grants under the Program for a fiscal year may go to applicants proposing innovative wood product facilities, unless the Secretary has received an insufficient number of qualified proposals for community wood energy systems.
(h) Funding
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Program $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.