2018 Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity | USDA FS WERC 2018

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS WERC 2018

The 2018 Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity (USDA Forest Service, Funding Opportunity No. USDA FS WERC 2018; CFDA 10.674) was a discretionary grant program designed to grow U.S. markets for wood energy and wood products in ways that directly support forest management and community resilience. The Forest Service framed the program around a practical challenge: forests on the National Forest System and other lands often need thinning, fuels reduction, and other treatments to improve forest health and reduce wildfire risk, but those treatments can be expensive unless there are reliable markets for the material that comes off the land. By helping communities and businesses create or expand those markets, the program aimed to make forest management work more feasible and to turn low-value biomass and other woody material into economic opportunity.

The solicitation set out a clear timeline. The Request for Proposals was issued on October 18, 2017, with proposals due by January 22, 2018. The Forest Service anticipated notifying applicants around May 1, 2018, with awards expected around July 1, 2018. The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $250,000 per award and anticipated making about 28 awards, indicating a competitive program intended to fund a portfolio of projects across different regions and approaches.

Across all proposals, the Forest Service emphasized three priority outcomes. First, projects needed to help reduce hazardous fuels and improve forest health on National Forest System lands as well as other forest lands, reflecting an emphasis on treatments that lower wildfire risk and improve overall stand conditions. Second, projects were expected to reduce the costs of forest management on all land types by building demand for materials that might otherwise be costly to remove and dispose of. Third, the program aimed to promote the economic and environmental health of communities, recognizing that stable wood markets can support local jobs, keep energy dollars circulating locally, and strengthen rural economies while encouraging responsible stewardship of nearby forests.

Funding was split into two distinct grant categories, and applicants had to align their proposal with the appropriate track. Grant Category 1, Expansion of Wood Energy Markets, focused on stimulating, expanding, or supporting wood energy markets that rely on forest residues or forest byproducts generated from any land type. The intent was not simply to study wood energy in the abstract, but to push projects closer to real implementation and market adoption. Examples of eligible project types included building a cluster of wood energy projects in a particular geography or within a defined sector such as prisons, hospitals, universities, manufacturing facilities, or other industrial users. Another example included efforts to overcome market barriers and stimulate expansion of wood energy in the commercial sector, which could involve addressing adoption hurdles like fuel supply reliability, procurement practices, or other practical constraints that prevent projects from moving forward.

Category 1 also explicitly supported late-stage development work needed to secure financing, which is often where otherwise promising wood energy concepts stall. The program highlighted completion of requirements such as engineering designs, cost analyses, and permitting. In other words, the Forest Service was willing to fund the kinds of concrete pre-construction steps that lenders and investors typically require before a project can break ground, with the broader goal of converting planning into operational facilities and stable demand for forest residues.

Grant Category 2, Expansion of Wood Products Markets, was aimed at increasing demand for non-energy wood products and strengthening markets for innovative wood-based materials. The program stated a preference for projects that support commercial building markets or other markets that use innovative wood products, signaling interest in newer construction and manufacturing applications rather than traditional commodity uses alone. Importantly, wood energy proposals were not eligible under Category 2; those had to be submitted under Category 1. Category 2 could include demonstration projects and applied research, but the Forest Service cautioned applicants that competitiveness could vary and strongly encouraged early consultation with the appropriate Forest Service Regional Biomass Coordinator to gauge fit and likelihood of success.

Overall, the 2018 Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity functioned as a market-building tool tied to forest management outcomes. By funding projects that either advance wood energy adoption or expand non-energy wood product demand, the Forest Service sought to create stronger end uses for materials generated through fuels reduction and forest health treatments. The underlying logic was straightforward: when communities and businesses can profitably use residues, byproducts, and other woody material, forest restoration and wildfire risk reduction become less expensive and more scalable, while also supporting local economic development and environmental goals.

• The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2018 Wood Innovations Funding Opportunity" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.674.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 18, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 22, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 28 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for USDA FS WERC 2018

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: