California biomass facility hopes to receive $14.6m from US government

Jan 05, 2023

A biomass facility has been proposed to be constructed just outside of Jamestown in Tuolumne County, California in the US, reported MyMotherLode.
The site would be constructed on 17 acres near the Sierra Conservation Centre, off O'Byrnes Ferry Road.

Tuolumne Biomass LLC plans to lease the property from T-Five Ranches Inc, with county documents stating that an existing solar farm would remain operational.
The project applicants are seeking a Conditional Use Permit, Air Pollution Control Distric Permit, construction permit, grading and encroachment permits, changes in the Williamson Act contract and state water board permits.

The Tuolumne County Community Development Department are currently reviewing the project in a 30-day process.

With a total project cost of $14.6 million (€13.7m), with the majority coming from government grants and loans - including a $4.2m (€3.9m) grant from the HUD National Resilience Programme, a $3.5m (€3.2m) loan from the same programme, a $2m (€1.8m) HUD Residual Receipts Loan, a $2m CAL Fire Workforce Development Grant, an $800,000 (€753k) US Forest Service Community Wood Grant, a $60k (€565k),RCAC/EDA Revolving Small Business Loan and $1.5 million (€1.4m) in private equity funding.

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Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.