BD Zones and BDO Zones: Weaponizing Biomass to support a Bio-Fueled Economic Recovery

Key Points

• The US has over a billion tons of biomass which can be used as a key lever to drive economic recovery.
• USDA estimates that 4 million jobs and nearly $660 billion of economic benefits would be created by using biomass to manufacture alternative fuels, renewable chemicals, bio-based products and sustainable aviation fuels.
• BD Zones and BDO Zones are shovel-ready, actionable initiatives that unlock billions of dollars of institutional investment into communities where there is a surplus of biomass and where employment and bioeconomy development can be closely linked.
• BD Zones are areas where biomass feedstock readiness can be certified as “high availability and low risk”. There are thousands of these areas around the country. State economic development organizations are already set up to leverage BD Zones to de-risk project development and drive investment.
• BDO Zones are BD Zones that overlap with existing federal Opportunity Zones and can therefore qualify for powerful OZone tax incentives. BDO Zones have supercharged potential for bioeconomy development and related employment.
• A relatively minor clarification of OZone Guidance would unlock billions of development dollars for bioeconomy manufacturing plants that are built in BDO Zones.

Click on the next page to read how Biomass can be a powerful engine for the economic recovery, the steps for recovery, why the time to move is now, and 3 recommendations to government.