The City of Lincoln receive up to $400,000 for a project to turn wood waste into biochar, a carbon-rich charcoal that has many benefits to the environment.
Lincoln is one of seven cities in the U.S. and Europe that was selected to develop a biochar project. The money comes from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Lincoln’s plan is to take ash trees removed due to the Emerald Ash Borer and produce biochar and use it to support tree plantings, urban agriculture, public gardens, composting, and storm water treatment. More information is available at lincoln.ne.gov/biochar.
“On behalf of the City of Lincoln, I want to thank Bloomberg Philanthropies for their generous support of our efforts to advance key goals of our Climate Action Plan and Resilient Lincoln initiative,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said. “Together with our partners, Lincoln is innovating to develop solutions that reduce our carbon footprint, create economic opportunity, extend the life of our landfill, and improve the soil we rely on to grow.”
The Mayor said the grant is also helping the city explore biochar’s potential for agricultural carbon credits, recovery and resale of energy by-products, and direct sale to gardeners and farmers.
Lincoln will build its first biochar production facility and is currently completing a feasibility study and design work for the facility, which is scheduled to be operational by the summer of 2023.
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(Photo: City of Lincoln)