Associated Press - September 16, 2009 4:14 AM ET
Suppliers of wood products for a biomass electric plant in Michigan's Upper Peninsula will get a federal subsidy under a new program designed to support alternative energy.
L'Anse (LAHNS) Warden Electric Co. is set sign an agreement Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency.
Under the deal, suppliers of L'Anse Warden can be eligible for the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. It will pay owners or haulers who provide waste wood products to the electric plant.
L'Anse Warden burns old railroad ties, waste from sawmills and paper mills, and other wood materials to generate power.
USDA official Dale Allen says the cost of gathering and transporting wood products is an obstacle to making biomass energy economically feasible.
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