Biomass News

Canton, South Dakota has been issued a BDO Zone 'A' rating for corn stover, the first such rating in the state, covering a 75-mile radius from Canton across the Sioux Metro region and rated for 700,000 bone dry tons per year of low-risk supply. The rating was issued by the BDO Zone Initiative in partnership with Sioux Metro Growth Alliance and Ecostrat. An 'A' rating denotes high prospective…
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Drax Group has reported a fall in first-half adjusted EBITDA to £279 million, down from £460 million in the same period last year, as the company continues to invest in expanding its generation portfolio beyond biomass. The group's interim results, covering the six months to 30 June 2026, also showed net debt rising to £1,025 million, up from £784 million at the end of 2025. Despite the…
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Japanese renewable energy producer Renova has resumed operations at its 74.8MW Tokushima-Tsuda biomass power plant in Tokushima Prefecture following repair works on a damaged steam control valve connected to the high-pressure turbine. The plant, which uses wood pellets and palm kernel shells as fuel, can produce around 500,000 MWh per year — sufficient to meet the electricity demand of…
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Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences are working with Woodland Biomass Innovations, a startup planning a woody biomass-to-energy facility in north central Pennsylvania, to assess whether the proposed operation would be sustainable and ecologically sound. Woodland Biomass Innovations is developing a facility designed to convert around 1,000 tons of regional wood residues…
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Researchers at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) have identified optimal conditions for extracting oil from spent coffee grounds, pointing to a route for turning the waste product into biodiesel feedstock and other bio-based materials. The study, published in Biomass and Bioenergy, looked at spent coffee grounds as a high-volume waste stream. Global coffee production runs to around 10…
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As New Zealand accelerates its transition from coal to wood energy, Bonfiglioli is helping manufacturers upgrade the equipment needed to support the shift. The New Zealand Government's Wood Energy Strategy and Action Plan aims to replace up to 40% of fossil fuel process heat by 2050, driving investment in wood pellet production and materials handling infrastructure — and with it, growing…
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Mining giant Rio Tinto has signed a five-year offtake agreement with Australian renewable biomass company SuperChar to supply locally produced bio pellets for use at its alumina refineries in Gladstone, Queensland in Australia, with deliveries targeted to begin in 2028. The agreement follows operational trials and a feasibility study in which bio pellet and coal blends demonstrated that bio…
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Australian low-carbon fuels company HAMR Energy has been awarded AUD 32 million (EUR 19.6m) in conditional funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to advance development of a forestry residues-to-sustainable aviation fuel project spanning Victoria and South Australia. The award is the first under the Australian government's AUD 250 million Low Carbon Liquid Fuels priority,…
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Plumas County in California has been issued an 'A' rating under the BDO Zone Initiative, certifying 255,000 bone dry tons per year of low-risk woody biomass within a 75-mile radius of Taylorsville and opening the region to new biomass markets and forest restoration investment. The rating, issued by Ecostrat and the BDO Zone Initiative alongside local partners Plumas Corp and Plumas County Fire…
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A bill introduced in the US House of Representatives would establish a new tax credit covering 30% of the cost of constructing biomass energy facilities, in a bid to spur plants capable of processing material cleared from forests to reduce wildfire risk. The Biomass Facility Construction Act (H.R. 9746), introduced on 16 July by California congressman Kevin Kiley, would allow new facilities to…
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New Zealand's Department of Corrections has replaced the last coal-fired boiler at Invercargill Prison with a containerised wood pellet system supplied by Apricus Eco, as first reported by The Southland Times. The 1MW ÖkoFEN boiler, housed in a modular 'Energy Box', is believed to be the largest ÖkoFEN installation in the world. Corrections said the move supports compliance with the…
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Malaysia's Sustainable Energy Development Authority (Seda) has identified 51.88 MW of potential power generation capacity from palm oil mills that could be developed in Peninsular Malaysia, according to deputy energy transition and water transformation minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad. The minister also revealed the scale of the country's untapped biogas resource, telling parliament…
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Japanese-owned forestry firm Juken New Zealand (JNL) has confirmed the closure of its Northland Mill in Kaitāia with the loss of around 60 jobs, after the government declined to back a regional rescue package that included plans for a woody biomass biofuel operation at the site. Northland Regional Council, Far North District Council and economic development agency Northland NZ had urged…
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Canadian biomass energy firm CHAR Technologies has welcomed the Québec government's new integrated energy plan, which earmarks an estimated $87 billion (€75 billion) of investment in renewable energy over the next 25 years — with forest bioenergy singled out as a sector requiring new capacity. The Plan de gestion intégrée des ressources énergétiques (PGIRE) 2026-2050, tabled on 30…
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