Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

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Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I am proud to introduce the Bioenergy Act of 2015.

Managed in an environmentally responsible way, woody biomass presents a carbon-neutral alternative to fossil fuels for heating and powering homes, schools and businesses. Much of the woody biomass in the U.S. that could be used for energy production is either waste from the forest products industry, or small trees that contribute to the overcrowding of forests and wildfires. In 2013, wildfires burned 4.3 million acres of American forests and rangeland, and the Federal Government spent $1.7 billion to fight them. Additionally, about 2 billion metric tons, or 30 percent, of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions came from fossil fuel use in space heating, water heating or electricity generation for American homes and businesses. Using woody biomass for heat and power can help fund wildfire risk reduction and forest restoration, all while creating low-carbon energy and a stable source of jobs in rural economies across the country.

Despite this potential, the U.S. Department of Energy, DOE, has not invested in biomass heat, bioheat, and power, biopower, projects and research. This bill introduces modest steps to develop this resource, learn more about its full potential, and improve interagency coordination between DOE and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, Forest Service on this topic.

Specifically, the bill will establish a competitive cost-share grant program at the Department of Energy to improve technologies for processing woody biomass and bringing down transportation costs, as well as innovative technologies for using biomass for heat and power--from new power plant designs, to neighborhood heating systems called ``district energy'' systems.

The bill also creates a cost-share grant program through the U.S. Forest Service to support proven biomass technologies, like combined heat and power, CHP. To assist with financing, the bill expands a loan program run by the USDA Rural Utilities Service to include bioheat and biopower, and establishes a new loan program for projects that are not located in a rural utility service territory. Finally, the bill would support continued research into the environmental sustainability and economics of using biomass for heat and power, and would establish a collaborative platform for directing this research across the Departments of Energy and Agriculture.

This bill is good for the environment, good for rural jobs, and good for stopping wildfires before they start. I encourage my colleagues to support it.

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