Biomass News

 The UK’s Energy Minister Richard Harrington has confirmed that £557m (€621 million) will be made available for less established renewable electricity technologies for future Contracts for Difference (CfD) auctions, starting with the next auction in 2019. The news forms part of the government’s ‘Clean Growth Strategy’ to drive economic growth and clean up…
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The Walloon government has decided to cancel its call for tenders for a biomass power plant in Wallonia, Belgium. The Walloon government is the executive branch of Wallonia, and it is part of one of the six main governments of Belgium. In May 2016, the Walloon government announced plans to support a 200MW biomass plant and launched a call for tenders. However, on 12 October, 2017, L’Echo…
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A number of important figures surrounding the bioenergy industry have reacted to the UK government’s new Clean Growth Strategy. Greg Clark, the UK’s Business and Energy Secretary, published ‘The Clean Growth Strategy: Leading the way to a low carbon future’ on 12 October. Highlighting the current state of play in UK energy sector, the strategy also lays out a plan for…
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UK-based Essex County Council has announced plans to explore the delivery of a combined heat and power (CHP) biomass boiler facility to treat wood collected at its network of household recycling centres. The authority is currently seeking expressions of interest from parties within Essex able to maximise use of 6 to 10 MWt of heat produced by a CHP boiler. The facility will, additionally, produce…
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Advanced Biomass Solutions (ABS), an affiliate of Active Energy, has entered into an agreement with US-based Lumino Capital for the financing, development and operation of eight CoalSwitch plants across Southeast Asia. Active Energy is a London Stock Exchange-quoted international forestry management and biomass-based renewable energy business. Under the terms of the vertically…
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A 50 megawatt, biomass-fuelled combined heat and power (CHP) plant has been completed at one of Procter and Gamble’s (P&G) largest paper production facilities in the US. The new plant is owned and operated by Constellation, a subsidiary of Exelon, and provides steam to P&G’s Albany, GA paper manufacturing facility. The CHP plant also generates electricity for Georgia Power, a…
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Scottish energy manufacturer Heliex Power has been commissioned by Netherlands-based Wattplant to install its innovation at the company’s T Voske mushroom farm. The farm is located in Uden, between Eindhoven and Nijmegen. Already chemical-free, the estate is aiming to become the world’s first grower with a completely energy and climate-neutral nursery. Working with a steam-raising…
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Firefighters were called to Lisahally Biomass Power Plant in Londonderry, Northern Ireland at 19:30 BST on Sunday 1 October following reports of a ruptured steam pipe, the BBC reports. Fortunately, no one was injured in the steam explosion, the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service reported. According to the BBC, several fire engines were called to the scene. Some aluminium panelling was…
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One of the world’s largest plant science research institutes has received a five year, $16 million (€13.6 million) grant from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to enhance the use of sorghum for bioenergy. The Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre will use the funding to build on earlier research using the model grass, green foxtail (Setaria viridis). The latest project will aim to…
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The UK government should use a whole system cost analysis to evaluate the costs of different energy projects, taking into account intermittency and system integration costs, according to trade associations Biomass UK and the US Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA). The trade bodies have submitted a white paper entitled ‘Bigger picture, lower cost’ to Professor Dieter Helm, who has…
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The European Biogas Association (EBA) has hosted its first dedicated to power-to-methane workshop in Brussels in joint cooperation with Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and the European Renewable Gas Registry (ERGaR). The event, which took place on 6 September, 2017, showcased the latest technological developments around Europe and it formalised the launch of a common vision of the three…
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Power giant Drax has announced that its CEO, Dorothy Thompson, will step down from her post after 12 years in the role. The company’s current finance chief Will Gardiner will succeed Thompson who will step down from the post and leave the group at the end of 2017. Drax chairman, Philip Cox, said: "We are delighted Will is to become Chief Executive. He has been a key architect of our new…
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A new method of carbon storage and monitoring, which can determine the origin of a CO2 sample by analysing its chemical fingerprint, is to be used for a leading research project. Designed to monitor and ensure the safe storage of industrial greenhouse gas emissions, the new method will aid the development of carbon capture and storage technology, which stores the carbon dioxide from power…
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Biomass combined heat and power and waste-to-energy projects have made a strong showing in the UK’s latest competitive auction for renewable technologies. According to a press release from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (DBEIS), eleven new energy projects worth up to £176 million have been successful in the second Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction.…
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