For forest bioenergy to become competitive with fossil fuels, some incentives are needed. Existing incentive programs seem to focus on energy producers (processors) and consumers with few providing incentives to forest landowners. In addition, there is a need for better integration and coordination of different incentives programs to generate a greater impact on bioenergy development.
There are several federal and state wildfire mitigation programs that offer incentives for fuel treatments on private forestlands. The federal programs are:
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and
Forest Land Enhancement Program (FLEP).
EQIP assists private landowners to address natural resource problems which threaten environmental quality by providing cost share. Funding for FLEP has been stopped, but any FLEP funds remaining in the states may be spent in accordance with federal and state program rules. Examples of the state programs include the Wildfire Mitigation Program in Mississippi and North Carolina and the Urban Wildland Interface Community Wildfire Preparedness Program in Texas.
More detailed information about federal and state incentive programs related to biomass, bioenergy, and renewable energy can be found on the
Database for State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency. |
