Biofuels opportunities program gets funding boost

Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

The federal government has committed an additional $10 million in funding to support projects under the Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative (BOPI).

Of that amount, $3 million is allocated to projects already submitted for the 2006-07 fiscal year, due to higher than anticipated demand. The other $7 million is now in place for projects submitted during the upcoming 2007-08 fiscal year.

The BOPI program is intended to help reach the national government’s goal of five per cent renewable fuel content in transport fuel by 2010. Its specific objective is to help agricultural producers in the development of sound and well-documented business plans for projects that have significant producer ownership, which is defined as greater than one-third under the eligibility requirements.

The program is delivered in Saskatchewan by the Saskatchewan Council for Community Development (SCCD). The group’s Communications Manager Dallas Carpenter says the intent is to get producers involved as owners of the value chain.

“The real key here is that the program is aiming to get more producers involved in the production facilities, so that the producers are not just providing feedstock, but they’re actually sharing in the benefits of the end product,” said Carpenter.

For the purposes of the program, agricultural producers are defined as individuals, corporations, partnerships, co-operatives or other associations engaged in commercial agricultural production, with at least $10,000 in annual gross farm sales.

Funding can be used for four areas of activity: 1) hiring technical, financial, and business planning advisers to assist in developing business proposals that create or expand biofuels production capacity; 2) undertaking feasibility studies and other studies required to support business proposals; 3) investigating the pre-commercialization of biofuels-related research; and 4) gathering information to help determine opportunities and provide necessary input to generate industry involvement. Priority will be given to projects involving the first two areas.

Approved projects may receive up to $300,000 in funding, with at least 25 per cent of the project cost being invested as cash by the initiators of the project.

Carpenter says that projects submitted in Saskatchewan will be adjudicated by the SCCD board of directors, but their recommendation is not a guarantee of funding.

“It will all depend on where the greater demand is,” said Carpenter. “If our board receives a project, it will not mean that it will necessarily be allocated funding – that will be up to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.”

The closing date for BOPI project applications is June 22, 2007. They will be forwarded to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in September.

“We really want to emphasize the June 22 deadline, and stress that if there’s greater demand in Saskatchewan, there could be more of that funding coming here,” said Carpenter. “We want to strongly encourage any of the producer groups who are interested to get their applications in.”

More information on the BOPI program, its criteria and the application process is available from the SCCD at 1-800-641-8256, or online at www.sccd.sk.ca/bopi.

For more information, contact:
Dallas Carpenter, Communications Officer
Saskatchewan Council for Community Development Inc.
Phone: (306) 975-6856
E-mail: carpenterd@sccd.sk.ca
Website: www.sccd.sk.ca