Budgeting season is upon us, and virtually all programs that supply subsidies and incentives for renewable energy are likely to end up on the chopping block. The Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) is one of these.
In President Obama’s 2011 budget plan, BCAP retains its funding. The White House plan includes $198 million for the program. It does cap funding for the Collection, Harvest, Storage and Transport of biomass at $70 million, however; the remaining $128 million will support the Establishment and Annual Payment program for energy crops.
House Republicans spent most of the week ending February 18 considering amendments to their own budget plan. The House Appropriations bill, H.R. 1, includes Section 1285, which cuts the program’s budget to $112 million:
None of the funds appropriated or made available by this division or any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out the Biomass Crop Assistance Program authorized by section 9011 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 in excess of $112,000,000.
The House, Senate and White House will spend the next several weeks reaching compromise on the 2011 budget, and no one will be completely happy with the results. It is likely as well that agreement will not be reached before March 4, the date at which the government will shut down unless either a temporary funding bill or the full budget is signed into law.
Suz-Anne Kinney
Forest2Market: July 14, 2023
