Biomass growth capacity drops in US
Five new biomass plants with a total generation capacity of 10MW came online in the US last month, according to the Energy Infrastructure Update for April, published by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Since the start of 2014, 12 biomass-fired facilities producing a total 20MW of renewable energy have commenced operations. During the first four months of 2013, 35 biomass units generating 112MW opened.
This reduced growth in capacity it not just limited to biomass-based energy. The report states that in April, the only renewable technology type to add more capacity than biomass was solar, with 52MW of combined capacity.
As of the end of April, the US was producing 15.88GW of renewable energy from biomass. This is approximately 1.37% of total US capacity.
In addition, a landfill gas-to-energy plant also opened in April, the report stated. This is a 1.4MW plant owned by the Bannock County Public Works Department, located at the Fort Hall Mine Landfill in Idaho.