Biomass News

Sustainable wood waste, agricultural residues, manure, and other organic residues generated in Europe will only cover around 80% of the EU’s projected bioenergy use in 2030, a new analysis claims. Conducted by environmental groups BirdLife Europe and Transport & Environment (T&E), the study states that if Europe does not limit the use of bioenergy eligible to meet the EU’s…
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Renewable energy is estimated to soon overtake fossil fuels in the Finnish energy supply, a new report by Finland’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment says. In 2015, fossil fuels accounted for 37% of total consumption whereas renewable energy and fuels made up 35% of the total, and the portion is expected to keep growing. “A historic turn will soon take place,” said…
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US states can achieve better carbon reduction results and improve their use of biomass energy by working together, a new study finds. Under the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan, states soon could be mandated to significantly reduce carbon emissions. Researchers at the University of Missouri have identified the most effective ways for various US…
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The shuttered Aspen Power biomass plant in Texas has been sold to an undisclosed buyer at a price of nearly $5 million (€4.5m). Located in Lufkin, the 57MW plant that was marketed as the first wood waste-based biomass facility in Texas was sold during a court-ordered auction, the Lufkin News reports. The plant opened in 2011, but went silent just a year later in 2012 due to challenging…
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Drax Biomass (DBI), a pellet manufacturer operating in the Southeast US, has signed an agreement declaring the cypress and tupelo stands found in forested wetlands, including the Atchafalaya Basin, to be off-limits for its timber purchases. Louisiana’s famed Atchafalaya Basin is a popular destination for boaters, fishermen, and migratory birds. The “river of trees,” noted for…
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Japanese power supplier eRex’s plans to construct two new power plants by 2020 are set to make the company Japan’s largest biomass power producer. The plants will be built in Okinawa and another location in western Japan under a recently compiled medium-term business plan, the Nikkei Asian Review newspaper reports. Construction is projected to begin around mid-2017 and will…
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The University of Northampton’s new Waterside Campus in the UK will use sustainable technology for heat while dramatically reducing its CO2 output. The University has employed sustainable energy expert Vital Energi to deliver the energy solutions for the new campus, opening in 2018. The contract will see Vital Energi deliver an energy centre which will use woodchip biomass and gas to heat…
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Wind and solar power are likely to be less expensive than biomass to replace coal in the UK, a new study released today says. Published by the US Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and conducted by London-based Vivid Economics, the study says the “truly clean”, renewable forms of energy also will help the UK reduce carbon pollution and meet its goals to combat climate…
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Engineering and construction company Murphy & Sons has successfully completed the first phase of work on the UK’s first large-scale reheat biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant. Murphy has installed over 6,600m of cable ducts across a range of terrain in preparation of installing the 66kV circuit in early 2017 at the £138 million (€154m) Cramlington plant in…
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The US Federal District Court in San Francisco has issued an order allowing the Native American Blue Lake Rancheria Tribe to intervene in the Clean Air Act enforcement case currently pending against the Blue Lake Power biomass facility. The Tribe has been opposed to any restart of the facility located in in Blue Lake, California, because of significant air pollution impacts on the Tribe’s…
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Biomass co-firing is a “must” for resolving the global dependency on coal, a new report by the international consulting company Pöyry says. The latest Pöyry Point of View highlights that, despite growing climate change concerns, global demand for coal has almost doubled since the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The report argues that the future role of coal in the global energy mix…
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EnMass Energy, a US-based green biomass start-up founded in 2015, is commencing its first large-scale biomass energy development project. EnMass, headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, takes crop waste and turns it into clean and sustainable electricity for rural communities, helping them reduce energy poverty and mitigating climate change.   Pakistan possesses significant biomass…
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Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), the fifth largest energy producer in Florida, has switched to burning biomass in the aftermath of a mechanical failure at the company’s Deerhaven coal plant. The fuel swap had already been in the plans earlier due to a previous breakdown, but the Deerhaven incident caused the company to hurry the decision along. But the change has been controversial in…
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Brazil's power regulator Aneel has revoked the winning status of a 28.5MW biomass project from the energy auction held on 21 August, 2015. The project was proposed by Brazilian Clealco Acucar e Alcool, which planned to build a plant using sugarcane bagasse as energy source. The decision was made by Aneel's Special Tender Committee (CEL), the body responsible for the vetting process…
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