Biofuels Opportunities for Producers Initiative - Eligibility

**Note: BOPI has ended and is no longer accepting applications.**

Applicant Eligibility

Eligible applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents that are legal entities, and may include: not-for-profit organizations and associations; universities; colleges; cooperatives; marketing boards; aboriginal groups; individuals and for-profit companies.

Excluded from eligibility are:

• Federal departments and agencies;
• Any applicant deemed ineligible as a result of Canadian government policy decisions or reasons; and,
• Any applicant that is not a legal entity.

Project Eligibility

The objective of each approved project will be to improve the agricultural producers’ ability to participate in and take advantage of opportunities to be created by biofuels production. 

To be eligible, projects must comply with ACAAF objectives, principles and criteria, must fit within one of the ACAAF pillars, and must fall under one of the following key areas:

1. Hiring technical, financial, and business planning advisors to assist in developing sound, viable business proposals to create and expand biofuels production capacity involving significant (greater than one-third) ownership by agricultural producers (Pillar I);
2. Undertaking feasibility studies and other studies required to support business proposals (Pillar I);
3. Investigating the pre-commercialization of biofuels related research (such as technical analysis, adaptive research, market assessment and venture assessment, technical feasibility, market and economic feasibility studies, engineering prototypes, strategic market and business plans, the development of production prototype and demo product features, and other related activities if deemed eligible by AAFC) (Pillar II); and
4. Gathering information to help determine opportunities and provide necessary input to generate industry involvement in biofuels capacity building (Pillar III).  Initiatives related to Pillar III must be oriented to business opportunities rather than policy dialogues and conferences.

In accordance with the objectives of BOPI, priority will be given to supporting projects in the first two areas (i.e. business plans and feasibility studies).

To be eligible, projects under BOPI must not duplicate, overlap or replace existing federal, provincial and territorial programs and delivery mechanisms. 

Please click here for a printable copy (PDF) of the Applicant and Project Eligibility guidelines and the ACAAF Objectives, Principles and Criteria