The United States Forest Service (USFS) has opened the application period for three grant programs to support innovation and market development in forest products and bioenergy. The United States Department of Agriculture has nearly $34 million for Wood Innovations, Community Wood, and Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance (WPIA).
Wood Innovations Grant Program: Application period closes December 11, 2024
The Wood Innovation Grants Program, launched in 2015, stimulates, expands, and supports U.S. wood products markets and wood energy markets to support the long-term management of National Forest System and other forest lands. National focus areas include mass timber, renewable wood energy, and technological development that supports hazardous fuel reduction and sustainable forest management.
Community Wood Grant Program: Application period closes December 18, 2024
The Community Wood Grant Program, launched in 2020, provides funding for grants to install thermally led community wood energy systems or to build innovative wood product manufacturing facilities. The Forest Service expects renewable wood energy systems installed under this program to use the most stringent control technologies. The program places extra emphasis on assisting sawmills in economically challenged areas to retool or add advanced technology.
Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance (WPIA) Grant Program: Application period closes December 18, 2024
The Wood Products Infrastructure Assistance provides funding may be used to provide support for facilities that purchase and process byproducts of ecosystem restoration projects. This includes applications to establish, reopen, retrofit, expand, or improve a sawmill or other wood-processing facility in close proximity to federal or Indian lands that need ecosystem restoration and will generate byproducts. The emphasis is on areas of unnaturally severe high fire or insect or disease infestation with high or very high priority for ecological restoration. This program is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
For more information on these opportunities, click here.