- Biodiesel
Blenders Tax Credit
- Small Producer
Tax Credit,
- USDA Commodity
Credit Corporation (CCC)
- Renewable
Fuel Standard (RFS)
- Energy Policy
Act of 1992 (EPACT)
- Alternative
Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit
- Clean Fuels & Cities
Program.
- Petroleum
Violation Escrow Account
- Clean School
Bus USA Program
- Clean Fuels
Grant Program (Dept. of Transportation
- Federal
Bio-Based Products Preferred Procurement Program
- USDA Renewable
Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Program
- Conservation
Innovation Grant Program (CIG)
- USDA Value-Added
Producer Grant Program
This tax credit was established
by the
American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 and extended
through
2008 by the
Energy Policy
Act of 2005. $1.00 per gallon from Virgin - $.50 for non-virgin sources.
This
tax credit was introduced
in
the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and is available
to producers of
biodiesel or ethanol with
annual production of
less than 60 million gallons.
The
tax credit is
$0.10 per
gallon for the first 15
million gallons of production (a maximum
tax
credit of $1.5 million
per year).
The credit is due to expire
on December 31, 2008. (International 2005; Moller 2005)
40% of feed stock costs
paid for by this program. the USDA announced that the program was being
terminated
on July 31, 2006, due
to lack of funding
This act, originally passed
in 1992 and amended in 1998, had an announced goal
of replacing 30%
of
petroleum
fuels with non-petroleum fuels by 2010. (Energy 2006) The main
tool employed to achieve
this goal was a mandate
to state and federal agencies to
purchase non-petroleum powered
vehicles. The act required
that 75% of new lightduty vehicles purchased by federal fleets
In January of 2004, the
Department of Energy exempted private and local government fleets from
these regulations.
guidelines require that
2.78
percent of the fuel sold to consumers be generated from
renewable sources. biodiesel qualify as renewable source.
This tax credit was created
by section 1342 of the
Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The
tax credit is equal
to
30% of the cost of alternative refueling property, up to a maximum of
$30,000 for businesses
and
$1,000 for individuals.
Biodiesel blends of B20 or more qualify as alternative fuels. The
tax
credit is
effective for the period
January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2009.
The goal of the federal
Clean Cities program is to promote environmental, economic and energy
security by
supporting
local programs to reduce petroleum consumption. Grants and fact sheets
are
supported by this program.
The program also maintains data bases and offers technical support.
Fines paid by oil companies
from 1973 to 1981 for violations of federal oil price limits funded this
account.
These monies are used
for
energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. For the most
part, these funds are directed to
State Energy and Weatherization Assistance
programs. Over $4 billion have been distributed since this account’s
inception. (Energy 2006)
This program offers cost
sharing grants ($7.5 million in 2005) to school districts to upgrade their
diesel fleets, including modifications that allow buses to run on biodiesel
or for the purchase of new buses that run on biodiesel.
The main focus of this
program is to reduce emissions and improve
fuel economy. (Energy 2006)
This program is designed
to promote the use of
advanced bus technologies to reduce emissions.
The
construction of
alternative fuel stations and modifications to promote the utilization
of biodiesel
are covered by this program.
(Energy 2006)
This program was established
by the
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. The provisions
of this program require
federal agencies to purchase bio-based products
over petroleum based products
This program also directs
the
U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop and implement a bio-based
product designation. (USDA 2006)
The Farm Security and
Rural Investment Act of 2002 established this program, which offers grants
and loan guarantees to
eligible projects located in rural areas. Projects
that generate energy from renewable sources (including biodiesel)
are eligible for
grants
of up to $500,000 and loan guarantees of up to $10,000,000. Grant
requests are
limited to
25% of the
total project costs and
loan guarantees are limited to 50% of
the total project
costs. Applicants
must
demonstrate financial need to be eligible for a grant from
the program. (USDA 2006)
This program is administered
by the
Natural Resource Conservation Service. Total funding available
for the national portion of program is $20 million for fiscal year 2006.
Eligible
applicants are awarded grants of up to $1 million for projects that implement
conservation innovations. Bio-based energy projects that maintain
or improve air quality
are
eligible under this program. (NRCS 2006)
The CIG program also allocates
funds to be awarded at the
state level. State level grants are limited
to a maximum of $75,000. The state CIG programs may have different eligibility
standards than the national portion of the program.
In fiscal year 2006, Montana
distributed $645,000 from the state level CIG program. (Suffridge 2006)
This program offers
grants
to producers, agricultural cooperatives and majority-controlled producer-based
businesses for either
planning activities or working capital expenses.
The program requires that
grant funds be matched at a minimum of a
one to one ratio. An eligible project must qualify as a
value-added
project.
Production of farm based biofuels would likely qualify
for the program. This program handed out $19.5 million in fiscal
year 2006. (USDA 2006)
