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Flakeboard says BCAP threatens its Simsboro plant |
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A local newspaper reports that Flakeboard
officials say a bill to create federal incentives for biomass fuel
operations could double the cost of raw materials for its particleboard
plant in Simsboro, Louisiana.
According to The News Star, Flakeboard is
concerned that the 2008 Farm Bill’s Biomass Crop Assistance Program
could increase the plant’s cost for wood chips, shavings and sawdust by
$10 million per year. It would potentially force the company to cease
operations putting 125 employees at risk of losing their jobs.
Under
the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, suppliers can receive
dollar-for-dollar subsidies up to $45 per ton of wood chips and
shavings if they sell the material to a biomass conversion facility
that would use the wood for power production or create pellets to be
burned in a boiler.
The Composite Panel Assn. estimates that
30,000 U.S. jobs at composite panel mills and another 350,000 jobs that
use the products to make furniture, cabinets, doors, flooring and
mouldings could disappear if changes are not made to the program.
www.thenewsstar.com/article/20100109/UPDATES01/100109005/Federal-incentive-plan-threatens-Simsboro-manufacturer
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