U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on July 17 announced the U.S. Forest Service is awarding $80 million in Wood Innovation Grants to spur wood products manufacturing, expand active forest management, and accelerate energy innovation.&nbsp;“The United States is blessed with a bounty of natural resources that we must properly manage to sustain our future economy and boost rural communities. Proper forest use and management lowers our reliance on foreign products and is inherently aligned with President Trump’s America First agenda,”&nbsp;Rollins said. “We’re investing in innovation that ensures a steady, sustainable supply of American wood that not only supports jobs and fuels economies, it protects the people and communities we serve, as well as the forest resources they depend on to survive and thrive.”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.&nbsp;More than 100 awards have been made under the Wood Innovations Grant Program so far this year. These awards support a wide variety of project types, including those focused on wood pellets, biochar and energy production. Awards made in 2025 include:<ul style="list-style-type:disc;"><li>$184,000 to the Alaska Energy Authority to advance multiple wood energy projects in interior Alaska that will increase markets for low-value wood and enhance active forest management activities.</li><li>$250 million to Arizona State University to support the development and testing of woody biochar coated granules to improve road performance and water runoff quality supporting active forest management by enhancing markets for low-value wood.</li><li>$300,000 to California-based American Wood Fibers Inc. to support the installation of a wood pellet mill to increase low-value wood utilization while supporting active forest management in California.</li><li>$150,000 to the California-based Fall River Resource Conservation District to establish biochar production capabilities to support active forest management and wildfire risk reduction across national forests in California.</li><li>$300,000 to Idaho-based IFT Technologies to develop an approved&nbsp;renewable fuel standard pathway for mill and forest residues supporting active forest management and wildfire risk reduction. &nbsp;</li><li>$150,000 to the Maryland-based Garrett County Board of Commissioners to support the design of a biomass thermal energy system to expand markets for low value timber and support active forest management in Maryland.</li><li>$300,000 to the Massachusetts-based Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary St. Benedict Center Inc. to support the installation of a district wood energy system to expand markets for low value forest biomass thereby supporting active forest management.</li><li>$114,553 to Northern Michigan University to support an engineering plan to restart a biomass energy system at a Michigan university, resulting in increased markets for low-value wood and support for active forest management.</li><li>$299,986 to Western Michigan University to develop a pathway to produce biochar asphalt additives using low-value forest biomass thereby supporting active forest management and wildfire risk reduction.</li><li>$1 million to Montana-based Big Sky Bioenergy LLC to establish a wood energy facility and biochar plant at a large sawmill in Deer Lodge, Montana, to support active management and reduced wildfire risk on National Forests in Montana.</li><li>$300,000 to Montana-based Faradyne Power Systems Corp. to design a facility in Silver Bow, Montana, to produce wood-based renewable diesel, graphene and biochar creating a new market for low-value woody biomass thereby reducing the costs of forest management.</li><li>$300,000 to New Hampshire-based PK Wood Pellet LLC to support the installation of Install new pellet mill at a former sawmill site to expand markets for low-value wood while supporting active forest management in the northeast U.S.</li><li>$300,000 to New Mexico-based Western Wood Products Inc. to automate wood pellet processing to increase biomass utilization and support rural economic development and active forest management.</li><li>$220,928 to North Carolina State University to expand biochar production as a tool for processing large volumes of forest biomass following natural disasters.</li><li>$229,199 to Oregon-based Freres Lumber Co. Inc. to enhance biochar markets at a plywood manufacturer to support active forest management on national forests in Oregon.</li><li>$50,000 to Oregon-based Wisewood Inc. to provide life cycle assessment to advance biomass energy projects using wildfire fuel reduction materials thereby supporting active management and markets.</li><li>$118,396 to Pennsylvania-based Deer Park Lumber Inc. to upgrade a wood-fired boiler system to improve lumber production efficiency and support active forest management in Pennsylvania.</li></ul>&nbsp;A full list of awarded projects is available on the U.S. Forest Service <a href="https://www.fs.usda.gov/science-technology/energy-forest-products/wood-innovation/grants">website</a>.

2025-07-18 - US Forest Service funds pellet, biochar, bioenergy projects  (Biomass Magazine)

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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on July 17 announced the U.S. Forest Service is awarding $80 million in Wood Innovation Grants to spur wood products manufacturing, expand active forest management, and accelerate energy innovation. 

US Forest Service funds pellet, biochar, bioenergy projects

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