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USDA awards $80 million in wood innovation grants

On July 17, the USDA announced the U.S. Forest Service is awarding $80 million in Wood Innovation Grants to spur wood products manufacturing, expand active forest management, and accelerate energy innovation across America’s timber-producing communities.

The awards include six going to Georgia companies:

• Choice OpCo LLC was awarded $260,910 to install firewood processing equipment to increase utilization of small diameter timber and support active forest management in Georgia;

• Equilibrium Consulting was awarded $184,700 to develop a practical guide to accelerate mass timber-concrete composite systems using domestic wood while supporting active forest management;

• Forest Landowners Foundation was awarded $299,080 to validate novel phytosanitation technology to significantly expand southern yellow pine chip export markets while supporting active forest management across the U.S. South;

• Georgia Tech Research Corp. was awarded $299,993 to develop workflows and designs to robotically construct long-span timber trusses to expand wood markets for timber in the U.S. South;

• Koppers Inc. was awarded $300,000 to develop fire resistant wood utility pole technology to increase timber demand and active forest management across the U.S.;

• T&F Lumber was awarded $300,000 to upgrade lumber processing system to increase production capacity while supporting active forest management and rural manufacturing jobs.

According to the USDA, this investment removes unnecessary barriers that have kept forests dangerously overstocked and unhealthy, putting communities at risk from wildfire and other threats. It also carries out efforts to make forests more productive.

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