Global Clean Energy Holdings scores $30M USDA grant for climate-smart camelina

In California, Global Clean Energy Holdings, Inc. and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have signed a contract for the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities Grant for their Climate-Smart Camelina Project. With the signing, work can officially begin on their $30 million pilot project to measure and validate the advantages of Camelina sativa (camelina) as an ultra-low carbon nonfood renewable fuel feedstock.

Climate-Smart Camelina is a large-scale pilot project to implement, measure, and validate the climate advantages of camelina in both rotational (e.g., on fallow acres) and winter crop (e.g., in a double-crop rotation) production systems. The project will accelerate farmers’ adoption of camelina grown to produce feedstock for renewable biofuels and chemicals without causing land-use change and while increasing carbon capture in the soil. Further, the project will support market development to provide additional revenue streams to growers and provide a premium for this low carbon intensity crop.