Cost Effective Procedures to Aggregate, Verify & Deliver Carbon Credits to Private Sector Markets

The summary for the Cost Effective Procedures to Aggregate, Verify & Deliver Carbon Credits to Private Sector Markets grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the Nebraska State Office, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Cost Effective Procedures to Aggregate, Verify & Deliver Carbon Credits to Private Sector Markets: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is seeking an applicant for work within the states of Nebraska and Kansas, under the Authority of NRCS Soil Survey PL74-46, PL89-560 CFDA 10.903. One award will be made. The contract will include one base-year and two option- year periods. Work under this contract is subject to satisfactory negotiation. The maximum order amount for each contract period (base-year and each option-year) shall be $100,000. The purpose of the work is to implement and evaluate procedures and guidelines for delivering greenhouse gas emission reduction credits derived from agricultural land management activities to a private sector market. For the initial year of the contract, greenhouse gas emission reduction credits will be limited to those associated with carbon sequestration in surface soils and perennial vegetation via the application of conservation practices listed in the NRCS Field Office Technical Guides in Nebraska and Kansas. Awards in subsequent years may be expanded to include other agricultural sources of greenhouse gas emission reductions. At the discretion of each NRCS State Conservationist the awarded entity may work with NRCS to determine appropriate aggregators. SELECTION CRITERIA: Firms must meet the following criteria in order to be considered for an award under this requirement: (1) Demonstrated knowledge of greenhouse gas markets and natural resource based greenhouse gas management projects (2) Demonstrated understanding agriculture and natural resources management as related to greenhouse gas dynamics (3) Associated with organizations that represent agricultural producers and land managers (4) Associated with technical services providers capable of quantifying changes in land use, land management practices and resulting soil carbon changes and (5) Demonstrated ability to work with appropriate state and federal agencies. All selection criteria requirements are equally weighted at 20 percent. Tasks: Firms that meet the selection criteria should submit a business plan to 1) enroll 2) aggregate 3) verify and 4) deliver to a recognized market or exchange a minimum of 10,000 carbon sequestration-based greenhouse gas credits (one credit=one metric ton CO2 equivalent) per year. The business plan will propose procedures for:  contracting with individual to implement land management practices  verifying performance in the application of land management practices  measuring actual rates of carbon accumulation to reduce uncertainty  accumulating and bundling credits in sufficient amounts to minimize transaction costs and  transferring ownership of credits from sellers to buyers in a transparent market setting. The product will be a quantitative evaluation of alternative for cost-effectively marketing greenhouse gas emission reductions in agricultural production systems within the context of existing public sector conservation programs. Place of Performance: Project work activities shall be performed in both NEBRASKA AND KANSAS EAST OF U.S. HIGHWAY 281. Original Point of Contact: Timothy Bottoms, Contract Specialist, Phone 402/437-4092 or Email [email protected]