2025 Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program | USDA FS COMMUNITY WOOD 2025

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FS COMMUNITY WOOD 2025

The 2025 Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program (often called the Community Wood program) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the USDA Forest Service focused on putting wood to work in ways that both improve forest health and strengthen local economies. It is built around federal authorities that encourage rural revitalization, renewable energy, and forest-based infrastructure investments, including provisions tied to the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law). The core idea is to increase the use of renewable, forest-derived materials and fuels by helping communities and businesses install modern wood energy systems or expand capacity for innovative wood products, especially where that work can also support forest management goals like hazardous fuels reduction and utilization of low-value residues.

The Forest Service is looking for projects that are truly "shovel ready," meaning they can be completed within the award period without needing extra time or additional funding beyond what the applicant has already lined up. Projects should clearly advance at least three linked outcomes: expanding thermally led community wood energy or innovative wood product opportunities, improving forest health, and stimulating local economies. In practical terms, applicants are expected to propose investments that create or upgrade real facilities and equipment, not early-stage concepts that still require major feasibility work or future fundraising to finish.

Eligible project types span both wood energy and wood products manufacturing. On the wood energy side, a common example is installing a thermally led community wood energy system that provides heating, cooling, and/or electricity and displaces fossil fuels such as coal, heating oil, propane, or natural gas. "Thermally led" generally implies that useful heat is the primary output, with electricity generation possibly included when it fits the system design, rather than electricity being the main driver. On the wood innovation side, the program can support capital investments like purchasing and installing manufacturing equipment at a mass timber production facility, expanding a sawmill to add higher-value product lines using innovative technology and cost-saving measures, or equipping a new facility to produce biofuels using forest residues. Overall, the emphasis is on practical capital improvements that increase utilization of woody biomass and expand markets for wood-based products.

Funding is competitive and depends on availability. The Forest Service indicates it plans to make up to $6 million in total awards under this announcement. The standard maximum award is $1 million, and that amount can cover up to 35 percent of a project's total capital costs. In some cases, the agency may consider awards up to $1.5 million covering up to 50 percent of total capital costs if a proposal warrants special consideration, with particular attention noted for projects located in areas with high unemployment. While the notice describes these ceilings, applicants should treat them as limits rather than guarantees, since final award amounts and the number of awards will depend on the quality of proposals and available funds.

A key feature of this program is the financing structure: matching funds are not required, but leveraging is required. That means the applicant must bring in the remaining funds needed to complete the project above and beyond the Forest Service share. If an applicant requests federal funds equal to 35 percent of total capital costs, the applicant must demonstrate commitment to cover the remaining 65 percent using non-federal sources within the grant timeframe. These leveraged funds can come from the applicant or third parties, but they must be committed during the project period, and they cannot be federal dollars. If third-party partners are contributing leveraged funds, the application must include commitment letters that confirm the amounts being provided. Even though leveraged funds typically involve a lighter compliance and reporting burden than formal cost share or match, applicants still have to follow the program rules around documenting and securing those commitments.

Eligible applicants are broad and include nonprofits; local, state, and tribal governments; for-profit businesses, companies, and corporations; institutions of higher education; and special purpose districts such as public utility districts, fire districts, conservation districts, school districts, and ports. The funding opportunity is administered by the USDA Forest Service under CFDA number 10.708. The opportunity number is listed as USDA FS COMMUNITY WOOD 2025. The original closing date shown is December 18, 2024, and the funding instrument is a grant.

For applicants preparing a proposal, the Forest Service points to a pre-recorded informational webcast for guidance, along with additional background resources available through the Wood Innovations homepage. The official application materials include program instructions and the application form (FS-1500-0051). The overall message of the solicitation is that the Forest Service wants ready-to-build investments that measurably expand community-scale wood energy and/or innovative wood products manufacturing, while simultaneously creating local jobs and improving forest conditions by increasing the use of forest residues and other woody material that might otherwise have limited market value.

• The Forest Service in the natural resources sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2025 Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.708.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-10-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-12-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for USDA FS COMMUNITY WOOD 2025

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: