Park Falls Wisconsin is just like any of the hundreds of other bustling small towns across America. At least, it was until Monday July 14, 2008. That was the day when it was announced that the Department of Energy had awarded a $30 million grant for the construction and operation of a bio-refinery at the existing Flambeau River Papers, pulp and paper mill. The project shall be a show piece, and the first of it's kind.

The Park Falls Herald reported that, when in full operation, the bio-refinery is expected to produce a minimum of six million gallons of sulfur-free diesel fuel annually from nonfood-based, timber and agricultural waste materials. Additionally, the bio-refinery is expected to generate at least one trillion BTUs of process heat annually, which will be sold directly to the paper mill. That exchange is expected to make Flambeau River Papers the first integrated pulp and paper mill in North America essentially free of fossil fuel usage.

The project is expected to reach operational status by 2010, and is also expected to garner the close attention of alternative energy investors and governments world wide. The project is, in part, a response to the current presidential administration's nationwide call for increased energy independence without additional pressure being placed upon the food supply. It is widely hoped that these types of refinery operations shall soon be considered for development in other suitable locations across the country.