By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

L’ANSE, Mich. — The L’Anse Warden Electric Co. is really benefiting from the new Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP).

The federal program, administered by the Farm Service Agency, was authorized in 2002, but was stepped up this year with the new administration providing additional funds. On June 11, the USDA published a Notice of Funds Availability for this program as part of a new effort to make BCAP happen.

BCAP provides cash subsidies to suppliers of “certified biomass conversion facilities” in the form of matching funds. So far, many of these facilities are energy companies, including L’Anse Warden, a former coal and natural gas burning electric power plant. It used to be owned by the Upper Peninsula Power Co. It was bought by Traxys North America in 2007, although the power plant was idle by that time. The building is located in the small village of L’Anse in the Upper Peninsula. Traxys North America is the parent company of L’Anse Warden. It also owns a nearby power company, White Pine Electric Power.

Zach Halkola, energy sales and financial manager at L’Anse Warden, is also responsible for administering BCAP at the company.

“BCAP is going to provide them a necessary subsidy to help them procure fuel supplies,” Halkola said. “It’s definitely a critical component for our suppliers. It’s at a position where it’s a win-win situation for both the company and supplier. The supplier is getting more than what they were getting before the company became certified and we’re also getting a lower rate. It provides a dual incentive.”

Thus, although the facility doesn’t get a direct subsidy, it ends up benefiting from it as well. When Traxys North America opened up its new operation to burn biomass exclusively, it brought on 17 new blue collar employees. The people who handle administrative functions for White Pine also handle this work for L’Anse Warden. Halkola said 20-30 additional jobs have been created for contractors who supply the company with fuel.

“We burn a mix of wood waste, debris waste, old railroad ties, old tires,” Halkola said. “We’re permitted to burn tire-derived fuel. It’s a very high BTU material. It helps with the emissions and helps to burn the biomass.”

Halkola went on to say that although tires might not seem to be clean, burning them makes for cleaner emissions because it makes the fire hotter.

“We make sure that any of our wood that’s being removed has to meet a forest management standard,” he added. “We’re making sure that any forest removal is done in a responsible way. That goes right along with the BCAP program itself.”

So far the following facilities in the Farm World readership area have been certified as BCAP conversion facilities, according to the Farm Service Agency, in addition to L’Anse Warden: Pennington Seed in Ligonier, Ind; Midwestern Biofuels LLC in South Shore, Ky.; East Kentucky Power Cooperative – Spurlock Power Station in Maysville, Ky.; Cox Interior Inc./Cox Waste-to-Energy in Campbellsville, Ky.; and American Wood Fibers in Circleville, Ohio.