Biomass News

Dong Energy has decided that by 2023, coal will no longer be used as fuel at the company’s power stations. The decision is a result of the company’s vision to lead the way in the transformation to a sustainable energy system and to create a leading green energy company. Since 2006, Dong Energy has reduced its coal consumption by 73%, and the company has now decided to entirely phase…
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Beijing will strengthen environmental protection in 2017 by organizing an environmental police force to step up supervision and accountability in its 16 districts, according to acting mayor Cai Qi. "Open-air barbecues, garbage incineration, biomass burning, dust from roads -- these acts of non-compliance with regulations are actually the result of lax supervision and weak law enforcement," said…
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Philippines-based Victorias Milling Co. is expected to complete a cogeneration biomass power plant with 40MW capacity by the end of the year, according to media reports. According to online reports by Business World Online.com, VMC president and chief operating officer Eduardo V. Concepcion said the plant, which will run mainly on bagasse - a by-product of sugarcane, is on track to start…
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The third generating unit at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, UK, has been given European Commission (EC) approval to be fully powered by sustainable biomass. Drax can now complete the upgrade of the third of its six units to run on wood pellets, a process that started in July 2015. Now half the power station will produce renewable electricity, saving 12 million tonnes of carbon…
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GB Railfreight (GBRf), one of the largest rail freight operators in the UK, has announced it has signed a rail haulage contract with Lynemouth Power (LPL), to build 50 new purpose built high capacity biomass hopper wagons, following a successful tender submission. The new hoppers are estimated to start their service on the 1st October 2017. GBRf plans to run 27 trains per week, delivering over…
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Irish energy specialist Bord na Móna is to stop importing palm kernel shells from plantations in some of the world’s most biodiverse countries following concerns that it is helping to fuel deforestation. According to The Irish Times, since 2010, more than 150,000 tonnes of palm kernel shells (PKS) have been bought by the semi-state company to burn along with peat at…
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Blenheim Palace, an Oxfordshire, UK, UNESCO World Heritage Site, has instigated a series of environmental initiatives in a bid both to reduce its reliance on traditional energies and its overall carbon footprint. Among the most significant improvements are a 42% reduction in overall mains water consumption from 2013, the lowest electricity usage figures in five years, and an 81% reduction in its…
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China plans to increase the share of biomass-based energy in its power supply in a bid to reduce reliance on coal and improve air quality. According to China’s National Energy Administration’s 13th five-year plan, covering the period of 2016 to 2020, the country will achieve biomass energy equivalent of 58 million of tonnes by 2020 the end of the plan. Despite China producing biomass…
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The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) has signed a 15-year loan with the Finnish utility Lahti Energia for the construction of the new biomass-fuelled heating plant, the Kymijärvi III. The project is part of the City of Lahti’s plan to halve CO2 emissions by 2025, compared to 1990 levels. The new 170MW facility will replace the existing 350MW coal-fired plant, Kymijärvi I, which will…
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The University of St Andrews’ £25 million (€29.3m) biomass plant at the Eden Campus at Guardbridge has been officially commissioned. The plant marks a major step forward for St Andrews’ plans to become the UK’s first carbon neutral university. Located on the east side of a former paper mill site, the plant produces hot water in a biomass boiler using clean, natural…
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EPH Lynemouth Power has awarded Emerson a contract to help convert the 44-year-old coal-fired Lynemouth power station to a new biomass-fuelled power plant. As main automation contractor and main electrical contractor, Emerson is responsible for helping the project come online within budget and on time. Should the conversion be finished on schedule in late 2017, the plant, near Newcastle in the…
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The Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has appointed energy consultancy Baringa Partners to lead a new ETI bioenergy project examining the future of biomass logistics in the UK, alongside Ecofys and LLamasoft. Utilising LLamasoft’s supply chain design software, Supply Chain Guru, the six month project will model the logistics requirements of future bioenergy scenarios, identifying…
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Indian researchers have found a new use for sugarcane pulp as a source of highly fluorescent carbon quantum dots, which could reduce agricultural waste and offer a new revenue stream for farmers. These dots are tiny carbon nanoparticles, which are about four nanometers across, meaning that more of them would fit on the head of a pin than there are stars in the Milky Way. Because they emit light…
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The Indian government aims to generate 16,725MW of clean and renewable energy in 2016-17 (Apr-Mar), of which 12,000 MW would come from  the solar power sector. Clean and renewable energy capacity addition through wind, biomass and small hydro projects is expected to be of 4,000MW, 500MW and 225MW,  respectively, to meet the target for the ongoing financial year, according to the…
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