A fire on 14 March resulted in the temporary closure of Kansai Electric Power's 1.8GW coal- and biomass-fired power generation plant at Maizuru in Japan, reported Argus Media. The fire took place at 21:52 Japan time (12:52 GMT) on 14 March at a facility that delivers wood pellets to boilers. Kansai was therefore forced to suspend operations of the 900MW No.2 unit at... [Read More]

Airex Energy has raised $38 million (€35.5m) in a funding round that will accelerate the Quebec company’s plans to expand its production of low-carbon industrial and agricultural products made from biomass, reported the Globe and Mail. The seven-year-old company employs its own technology to turn sawmill byproducts and logging residue into biocoal pellets at its plant... [Read More]

Ignitis Group and its subsidiary Vilniaus Kogeneracinė Jėgainė (Vilnius CHP) concluded an agreement for a €220 million loan with Swedbank, it was announced on 9 March. Ignitis said the funds will be used to complete the construction of the Vilnius CHP biomass unit (€85m), and to re-finance a long-term loan of Vilnius CHP that was provided by the European Investment... [Read More]

This month, Drax, one of the world’s leading producers and users of sustainable biomass, loaded its 200th shipment of sustainable biomass at the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. The shipment marks a major milestone for Drax’s operations in the United States, according to the company, as it amounts to more than 10 million tonnes having been shipped and used to generate... [Read More]

Independent public body the Climate Change Committee (CCC) has warned the UK government that it should end subsidies for firms that burn trees for biomass, reported Sky News. The CCC did, however, support plans to add carbon capture and storage (BECCS) to extant biomass plants. This would affect companies like Drax, the UK's largest bioenergy provider, which was... [Read More]

Biomass is widely considered a renewable alternative to fossil fuels, with many experts saying it could play a key role in combating climate change, according to Yale University. Biomass stores carbon and can be turned into bio-based products and energy that can be used to improve soil, treat wastewater, and produce renewable feedstock. However, economic constraints and... [Read More]

Malaysia's minister of economy Rafizi Ramli has said that the government intends to focus on three renewable energy sources - namely biomass, hydrogen and ammonia - after announcing the country had joined the Japan-led Asia Zero Emission Community (Azec), reported Malay Mail. Azec is an energy bloc consisting of Japan, Australia and all Asean countries except Myanmar. Ramli... [Read More]

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves visited the ABSL biomass fuel plant in South Marston, reported the Swindon Advertiser. In doing so, she said she wanted a Labour government to support such businesses in scaling up, to help make Britain "a green energy superpower". Leader of the Labour group of borough councillors Jim Robbins accompanied Reeves around... [Read More]

The state government of Himachal in India has said it will collaborate with the Indian School of Business (ISB) to provide policy inputs and research support for the emerging bioenergy sector, according to The Tribune. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced this while presiding over a meeting with the representatives of the ISB. Sukhu said: “The government... [Read More]

The Irish Bioenergy Association has welcomed the relaunch of the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat (SSRH) by the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communication Eamon Ryan T.D. and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). Speaking at the relaunch event in Dublin, IrBEA CEO Seán Finan said: “We welcome the relaunch of the SSRH scheme for biomass and anaerobic... [Read More]

Anaergia announced it has been approved for a non-repayable contribution from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada of up to $1.7-million (€1.6m). The development was highlighted by Canada's minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau, during a ceremony at Anaergia's global headquarters in Ontario on 2 March. The approved project is part of an additional investment... [Read More]

Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson has announced a $35 million (€ 32.9m) investment to the Whitesand First Nation-owned Sagatay Co-Generation Limited Partnership. The funds will enable the deployment of a combined heat and power facility that uses locally sourced wood waste to produce energy for the communities. Once constructed, the facility... [Read More]

A new assessment of the EU bioeconomy shows that while resource efficiency is improving, there is a growing pressure on ecosystems from forestry and agriculture, according to the European Commission (EC). A better policy coordination is therefore needed to tackle the multiple pressures on land from biomass demand. The EC defined the bioeconomy as covering all sectors... [Read More]

Drax Group (Drax) has released its full year financial results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2022, reporting a strong performance. Its total profit after tax was £83 million (€94.2m), an increase of 50.9% from 2021, where profit after tax from continuing operations was reported as £55m (€62.4m). The firm further reported a robust result in earnings before... [Read More]

SNP MP Martyn Day visited the UK’s largest waste wood-powered biomass plant to understand the critical role of biomass in producing renewable energy. The Member of Parliament for Linlithgow and East Falkirk was shown around RWE’s £300 million (€340.2m) biomass combined heat and power (CHP) facility at Markinch in Fife, Scotland. The tour took place on 10 February,... [Read More]

Genesis Energy has successfully completed a biomass burn trial as it looks at alternative fuel options for Huntly Power Station, the company announced on 21 February. The objective of the week-long trial was to prove the technical viability of operating a Rankine unit solely on biomass. That was achieved with a Rankine running only on biomass for several hours, Genesis... [Read More]