Wisconsin adds $5M in funding for Flambeau River Papers biomass project

PARK FALLS, WI, Aug. 13, 2008 (Press Release) - Governor Jim Doyle today visited the Flambeau River Papers mill and announced $5 million to help the company achieve its goal of being the first integrated pulp and paper mill in the nation to operate without the use of fossil fuels.

"Flambeau River Papers is a great Wisconsin success story," Governor Doyle said. "The former owners closed this mill in 2006, but with the assistance of a $4 million package of loans from the state, a group of investors reopened it and saved 300 jobs. Now the company is leading the way in clean energy. Their proposed biorefinery shows us all that we can have an energy future that creates jobs, protects our environment and relies less on Mideast oil and more on Midwest know-how."

Flambeau River Papers received a $5 million award in the 2007-09 biennial state budget. The funding, through the Department of Commerce, will go toward reducing fossil fuel usage. The total project cost is $10.6 million.

Flambeau River Papers recently also received a $30 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to create a biorefinery for renewable sulfur-free diesel fuel. The company expects to begin production of approximately 6 million gallons of transportation fuel per year in 2010.

Governor Doyle, in his Clean Energy Wisconsin plan, is calling for 25 percent of Wisconsin's energy usage to come from renewable sources by the year 2025.