Oregon Town Gets Biomass Project Grant

City officials in Prineville and Crook County, Oregon are one step closer to building a biomass power plant in their central Oregon town after the U.S. Forest Service (FS) recently awarded a $1 million grant to the city and its Prineville Renewable Energy Project (PREP).

According to Prineville City Manager Steve Forrester, the PREP is a proposed 24.9 MW biomass power plant that is anticipated to increase the pace and scale of ecological restoration activities in the region by reducing their cost and providing a sustainable renewable power source. If completed, the facility will provide a much-needed additional market for biomass hog fuel material coming off forest thinning and fire-reduction projects in the region and help make such projects more viable.

The $1 million grant is from the FS Wood Product Infrastructure Assistance Program, and it will be used to fund continuing permitting and design work to move the project forward.