Legislation would give state aid for generating aviation fuel from wood

Lumber stacked for milling in northern Wisconsin. Lawmakers are proposing state support for a plant that would turn wood debris into aviation fuel. (Wisconsin Examiner photo)

Lawmakers from northern and northcentral Wisconsin are circulating a bill supporting Johnson Timber Corp. in Hayward to build a processing plant for aviation fuel made from logging debris.

The legislation would reward the company with a $60 million tax credit and access to $150 million in borrowing through Wisconsin’s bonding authority.

Republican lawmakers wrote in a memo circulated Monday seeking cosponsors that the proposal would create 150 jobs and generate $1.2 billion a year in income after three years of operation.

The processing plant in Hayward would be built by Johnson Timber Corp., in partnership with a