WGA Awards Biomass Energy Grant to Colorado

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 17, 2005

Contacts:
Gayle Gordon, Western Governors' Association, 303-623-9378
Megan Castle, Colorado Governors’ Office of Energy Management and Conservation, 303-866-2262

DENVER -- Governor Bill Owens announced today that the Colorado Partnership for Biomass Utilization, Education and Bioenergy Production has received a $100,000 grant from the Western Governors’ Association (WGA). The grant will be used to boost the use of bioenergy and reduce excessive build up of forest fuels that contribute to wildfires.

“Encouraging bioenergy production will lead to healthier forests and offer a clean, renewable energy source for Colorado,” Owens said. “It could also benefit economic development in many of our state’s rural areas.”

The Partnership, lead by the Colorado Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC) and the Colorado State Forest Service, will study the availability of biomass supplies; develop course curriculums in using forest biomass; provide technical assistance on how to use the fuel to heat facilities; and survey industries to determine what they would need to begin using biomass to co-fire their facilities.

The project addresses two of the Western governors’ highest priorities: increasing clean and diversified energy and improving the health of the region’s forests. WGA’s Western Regional Biomass Energy Program offers grants for joint projects between state energy offices and state forestry and/or agricultural offices. Biomass projects include renewable organic materials, such as forestry and agricultural crop residues, as well as wood and food processing wastes.

The grant program was initiated by WGA and the U.S. Department of Energy through the National Biomass State and Regional Partnership. In this first year of the Grant Program, four states received biomass program funding totaling nearly $250,000. Awards also have been made to Arizona, New Mexico and South Dakota. WGA will be awarding additional grants to other states this year. For more information about the Biomass program, visit the WGA Web site at: http://www.westgov.org/wga/initiatives/biomass/index.htm.

The Western Governors’ Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 18 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management.

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