By
Special to The Digest
Fifty-two million Americans live in economically distressed communities many of which are in rural areas. These communities are plagued by a lack of investment capital. In 2017, the US government launched the largest tax incentive program in the history of the US to change that dynamic: The
Opportunity Zone Program is a powerful federal tax incentive designed to spur economic development and job creation in these areas. While over $11B has been driven into OZs since the program’s inception, almost none of that investment has gone to clean-economy plants that produce biofuels, biochemicals, and biomaterials.