BY PEPPER FISHER
PORT ANGELES – A year ago, in May, we reported that Port Angeles was about to become the home of the largest biochar co-generation facility in North America. That plan appears to be on hold, at best.
At the time, Myno Carbon Corporation had announced on their website their plan to build their first large-scale biochar Carbon Removal Facility (CRF) on a property adjacent to the Hermann Brothers Logging sight on Industrial Parkway. The two companies were to work together to superheat, without burning, slash and other byproducts from timber harvests, and sell the carbon-rich product as soil conditioner for agriculture.
CEO Thor Kallestad told KONP via email the facility was expected to be completed and operational in early 2027.
After posting the story on our website, we heard back from Kallestad asking us to remove it from our website. Kallestad told us the story was a little premature and he was concerned that its publication might make it more difficult to close the deal. With the community’s economy in mind, we obliged, and Kallestad promised he would “stay in touch”.
We have since found out that the company was banking on a $20.4 million USDA grant, which they received in October, 2024 as part of the Biden administration’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) program.
But, in April of this year, the Trump administration’s USDA announced the cancellation of the entire $3 billion program, referring to it as a “green new scam.” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described the PCSC as a “Biden era climate slush fund” that had “sky-high administration fees which in many instances provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers”. The USDA stated it was prioritizing a new initiative, the Advancing Markets for Producers program, that better aligned with its priorities.
In a turn of events, last month a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction ordering the USDA to reinstate grants for specific farmers and community groups who had sued the administration. The lawsuit was brought by Earthjustice and other farm advocacy groups to challenge the termination of hundreds of grants, arguing the USDA failed to provide a legal basis for the cancellation.
We tried to contact Kallestad, asking for an update on the funding and the project itself, but have not received a response.