The community wood grant program expands thermally-led community wood energy systems and innovative wood products manufacturing, improves forest health and stimulates local economies

The Department of Agriculture Forest Service R6–Pacific Northwest Region awarded $869,172 to Top Hat Mushrooms Inc. on September 17, 2025, under the Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program (CFDA 10.708) to develop and commission a 1-megawatt-thermal steam biomass boiler equipped with a 75-kilowatt organic Rankine cycle for electricity generation. The project will be performed in Oregon with a completion date of June 1, 2027.

Top Hat Mushrooms Inc., a for-profit subchapter S corporation headquartered in Scio, Oregon, serves as the recipient. The Community Wood Energy and Wood Innovation Program provides capital cost assistance for wood energy systems that utilize wood and wood biomass, including residuals, as primary fuels. The program targets locations with limited market opportunities, forest restoration needs, and limited access to natural gas infrastructure, prioritizing the productive use of low value and low quality wood.

The goal of this project is to develop and commission a 1MW-thermal steam biomass boiler with a 75KW organic rankine cycle for electricity generation.