The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced it is investing more than $43 million (€39.8 million) to expand innovative uses of wood, including as an energy source, as a construction material and in manufacturing and processing input for wood products used in framing homes, making paper products and more. The funds are being invested in 123 projects across... [Read More]

A delegation of officials from the British Embassy in Tokyo and Japanese industry have been welcomed to Drax Power Station in Yorkshire - the UK's single-largest generator of renewable electricity. The group included the British Embassy in Tokyo’s Counsellor on Energy and Infrastructure, as well as a delegation of Japanese supply chain partners, customers and industry... [Read More]

Enterra has secured €35m project financing from UniCredit for a biomass plant in Italy. Located in Foggia in the southern region of Apulia, the 13 MW plant produces electric and thermal energy from biomass. A unit to remove alcohol byproduct will be installed to extract the distilled alcohol produced during the biomass process. This alcohol will then be sold to other... [Read More]

New Zealand's government is starting to cultivate a more sustainable forestry industry with investments into a bioenergy plant, research into biomass and better forestry practices, announced forestry minister Peeni Henare. “The Ministerial Inquiry into Land Use recognised current forest harvest practices are not sustainable. In some parts of the country, like Tairāwhiti,... [Read More]

A delegation of high-level bioenergy players presented their manifesto to Thierry Breton, EU Commissioner for Internal Market, on 6 June. The manifesto calls for inclusion of the manufacturing of bioenergy technology in the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), among other things. CEOs from European industry giants such as Lhoist, ONF Energie, Palazzetti, Syncraft, Turboden,... [Read More]

Mahdi Vaezi, a professor of engineering technology at Northern Illinois University (NIU), is investigating the feasibility of constructing an innovative, first-of-its-kind biomass pipeline. The project is supported by a $650,000 (€607k)  grant over four years from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The project has the potential to lay the groundwork for the world's... [Read More]

Vietnam's recently announced National Power Development Plan VIII demonstrates the country's intention to gradually eliminate coal- and gas-fired power generation, and to promote renewable energy to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, reported VOV. The plan for 2021-2030 contains a vision to 2050, and was approved on 15 May by prime minister Pham Minh Chinh on 15 May.... [Read More]

TPC Power Holding (TPCH), the renewable power generation arm of construction firm Thai Polycons Plc, has commenced commercial operation of its Pracharat Biomass Mae Lan power plant, part of its move to increase power generation capacity and sell carbon credits, reported the Bangkok Post. TPCH aims to support the Thai government's campaign to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.... [Read More]

The European Biomass Conference & Exhibition (EUBCE), the largest biomass conference and exhibition in the world, announced its 2023 award winners today (5 June). The winners were announced on the first day of the conference, which runs until 8 June. The Johannes Linneborn Prize was established by the European Commission in 1994 to honour scientific, technical or... [Read More]

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has launched a new, comprehensive web page dedicated to one of its priority subprograms, Renewable Carbon Resources (RCR), which helps develop RCR technologies and creates strategies for bioenergy and bioproducts production. RCR is designed to support applied research and pilot-scale projects for... [Read More]

Last month, Ofgem commissioned a probe into Drax's adherence to sustainability rules. The UK energy regulator tasked US consultants with examining the firm over its use of biomass, having launched an investigation into Drax in 2022, according to documents procured via a Freedom of Information application. Ofgem is "investigating whether Drax Power Limited is in breach... [Read More]

The Government of Ontario in Canada has announced the creation of a new $19.6 million (€13.4m) Forest Biomass Program, which it said will strengthen the economy and promote innovation in the forest sector. The application-based programme will aim to help develop untapped potential and environmental benefits offered by new and emerging uses of forest biomass. The programme... [Read More]

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Idaho National Laboratory yesterday (24 May), to herald a $15m (€13.9m) upgrade to a world-leading biomass preprocessing and development facility. The Biomass Feedstock National User Facility's upgrade is set to help the bioenergy industry overcome challenges related to converting biomass sources... [Read More]

Drax will establish its North American headquarters for Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) in Houston, Texas. The new office will serve as the hub for Drax’s team focused on bringing BECCS projects to fruition throughout the United States and Canada. Two initial sites in the US south for deploying BECCS have been selected and are progressing, according... [Read More]

Drax Group is set to construct two new bioenergy plants with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in the US, following months of consideration over where its investment should be placed. The company will invest around £7bn (€8bn) in BECCS projects between 2024 and 2030. Of this figure, £3bn (€3.4bn) is being earmarked for Drax's existing biomass plant in Yorkshire,... [Read More]

Searches for sustainable bioenergy and climate change solutions may be one and the same, according to a West Virginia University researcher. Edward Brzostek, associate professor of biology, and his students at the WVU Eberly College of Arts and Sciences are creating mathematical models to predict how bioenergy crops will enhance and store soil carbon through a renewed... [Read More]