The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $14.7 million grant to a biochar project that will enable the Tule River Tribe of California to tap into carbon credit revenue.
Under the project, the Tule River Economic Development Corp. (TREDC) will utilize the EPA grant to construct a biochar production plant in California’s Central Valley that will also have the capacity to generate renewable electricity.
According to TREDC estimates, the plant will be able to process up to 31,500 tons of woody residue annually, producing approximately 4,500 tons of biochar and roughly 4,000 megawatt-hours of renewable power each year.
Its operations are also projected to be able to remove up to 10,600 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, opening up about a dozen jobs, with more opportunities for tribal citizens expected to come in the future as the project expands.
The plant will serve to create an additional source of income for the tribe, through the sale of carbon removal credits and electricity, while also producing a biochar product that can be distributed for agricultural use.
Planned for construction at a former cotton gin site near Tipton, the biochar production plant will use biomass feedstock from both the Sierra Nevada and the surrounding agricultural corridor, where orchard trees reach the end of their productive life every 20 to 30 years, creating an abundance of woody waste.
Additionally, through a co‑stewardship agreement with the U.S. Forest Service, the project also expects to receive non‑salvageable softwood from the mountains located to the east of the reservation.
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To create the biochar, the facility will use a pyrolysis technology developed by ARTi that employs a five-unit system to heat the biomass material in low-oxygen chambers, converting it into carbon-dense biochar. Powered by an initial injection of natural gas, this system recycles its own heat, turning hydrogen and carbon monoxide into electricity.
TREDC intends to sell the produced biochar to agricultural growers across the region, who can use it to improve the health and water retention capacity of soils.
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