Upcoming Educational Events Involving Woody Biomass In North Carolina:

Rural Energy for America Program Meeting for Stakeholders

The USDA Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) will hold meetings for stakeholders focusing on Rural Development’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 2:00 pm.

The energy programs implemented under the 2008 Farm Bill continue to be a priority of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Undersecretary of Rural Development, and the Administrator of Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Benefits of these energy programs include decreasing the energy costs to rural communities, small businesses, and farms; converting renewable resources into clean energy; creating and saving jobs; and increasing energy security for the nation.

Doug Duncan, executive director of the North Carolina Association of Professional Loggers says NCAPL members in agricultural areas who have farming neighbors or ag. businesses looking for funds/grants to install biomass boilers for heat and electricity may want to attend. At this meeting, USDA-Rural Development staff will provide updates on the Rural Energy for America Program; discuss ways the Agency can leverage resources; and reiterate USDA’s commitment to achieving energy independence goals.

The USDA Rural Development North Carolina State Office will be hosting the meeting of stakeholders  at the USDA-RD North Carolina State Office, 4405 Bland Rd. Suite 260, Raleigh, NC, 27609. You are encouraged to contact the Rural Development Energy Coordinator in North Carolina to indicate your interest in participating in the meeting. Please contact David Thigpen, USDA Rural Development, at David.Thigpen@nc.usda.gov.

REAP is a popular and far over-subscribed program. Thousands of farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses have tapped into the clean energy resources on their lands and cut energy waste in their operations. Cuts to REAP via the FY12 budget process were far out of proportion to other farm programs: 47% percent cut for 2012 follows a 25% cut in 2011. Cutting REAP also reduces private investment share, reducing overall rural development. This also means higher farm production costs, fewer jobs, less renewable energy development, and more emissions.

Wood to Energy II: Promoting BioEnergy in Your Neck of the Woods

You are invited to participate in an economic development workshop scheduled for March 6, 2012 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at North Carolina State University-College of Natural Resources (Jordan Hall Addition, Room 1216).  The workshop agenda is attached to this email message, "Wood to Energy II: Promoting BioEnergy in Your Neck of the Woods".

Doug Duncan, executive director of the North Carolina Association of Professional Loggers says a number of regional and county economic developers will likely attend. NCAPL members as potential biomass suppliers to new biomass industries could find some business contacts.

Participants in this single day workshop will learn about biomass and biofuel resources within North Carolina, the economic benefits and job creation from bioenergy projects, bioenergy industry trends, public and private partnerships, policy and market development, port authority updates and opportunities, and available resources and tools to help recruit sustainable bioenergy industries to North Carolina.   Participants from the first workshop included economic developers, county commissioners, military growth task force members, biomass industry entrepreneurs and experts, university professors, and representatives from the North Carolina Biofuels Center and Division of Environmental and Natural Resources.
 
Online registration and additional details are posted on the web page at www.ncsu-feop.org/W2E/registration_form.html.