Western States Seek to Partner with USDA on Small-scale Bioenergy Projects

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 2, 2010

Contact:  Alex Schroeder (303) 623-9378 ext 112

DENVER -- Western states are asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture to partner with them to promote smaller-scale, bioenergy projects that will continue to help meet their mutual goals of healthy forests, sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, and a clean and renewable energy future.  

The Western Governors' Association Transportation Fuels Council recently met with the USDA to identify concrete actions states can take to encourage the commercialization of alternative fuels and stimulate rural development in a sustainable manner.  In a follow-up letter, the Council expressed some of its concerns and recommendations.

"We believe that many of the opportunities offered by USDA require a scale that is too large to be sustainable or profitable for many locations in the West," the letter stated.  "Unique issues that hamper Western projects' participation in USDA programs include differing agricultural opportunities; smaller scale project emphasis; the amount of matching funds available to project developers; limited access to fuel sources; and longer distances for transporting feedstocks, bi-products and fuels.

"While we feel that large-scale development of bioenergy is a necessary component of our domestic energy future, we should also promote local and small-scale developments that meet the needs of rural Western communities.  Along these lines, we recommend that the USDA broaden its focus to include outreach and deployment of alternative energy projects through existing programs."

The letter noted that the USDA's Extension Service could be a local link that Western states could tap into.  Another program that has worked well for the transportation fuels sector in the West is the Department of Energy's Clean Cities program.

"This program has the mission of increasing U.S. energy and economic security by increasing the use of alternative fuels in our transportation system," the letter stated.  "The Clean Cities program has had great success in the West because of its tremendous networks in nearly all 50 states.

"The Western states have many projects they could initiate and develop utilizing existing infrastructure and worker skills.  These projects would provide much needed economic development in our rural communities, while serving the USDA mission."

A copy of the letter and more information regarding WGA's Transportation Fuels initiative, visit the Web at www.westgov.org.