Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced this week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting applications for funding for a program, formerly known as the Biorefinery Assistance Program, under the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program. “This critical financing will enhance our efforts to build a robust, rural bioeconomy by helping to expand the availability of bio-based products and to increase the number of commercial-scale biorefineries in the country,” Vilsack told stakeholders who were gathered at USDA’s headquarters.
The new program, which is known as “Section 9003,” provides loan guarantees of up to $250 million to construct and retrofit commercial-scale biorefineries and to develop renewable chemicals and bio-based product manufacturing facilities, USDA said in a news release.
USDA noted that the “9003” program has been expanded so that biorefineries are now able to receive funding to produce more renewable chemicals and other bio-based products in addition to advanced biofuels and bio-based product manufacturing facilities are eligible to convert renewable chemicals and other biobased outputs into “end-user” products.
