Specialist UK energy supplier Opus Energy has launched a 100% renewable energy tariff for small and medium-sized (SME) businesses utilising biomass energy. Opus Energy’s growing commitment to sustainability comes after its parent company, Drax Group, announced its ambition to become carbon-negative by 2030, in line with the UK Government’s carbon targets. The... [Read More]

US-based Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has teamed up with Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) to purchase 17 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from its mill in Mount Vernon, Washington. The move to invest in biomass energy marks PSE’s continued commitment to the environment and deep decarbonisation. PSE will work with SPI to use 17MW of energy produced at the company’s... [Read More]

Spanish energy, infrastructure and telecommunications firm Elecnor has been awarded an €86 million contract to build a combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Ghent, Belgium. The CHP plant is promoted by the Gentse Warmte Centrale (GWC), a society set up for this project by Belgian Eco Energy (BEE) – a Belgian energy firm specialising in the production and supply... [Read More]

Drax will stop using coal in 2021, ahead of the UK’s 2025 deadline. After almost 50 years of coal-fired electricity generation, Drax Power Station has committed to ending the use of coal in March 2021, marking a major milestone in the company’s ambition to become carbon-negative by 2030. The company’s decision follows a comprehensive review of its operations.... [Read More]

Scottish waste recycler NWH Group has acquired Armstrong Waste Management – the waste management division of the Armstrong Group. NWH Group, which serves Scotland and Newcastle via 10 sites, turns the waste it collects into products such as cardboard, paper, biomass for energy, washed sands and animal bedding. The company last expanded when it acquired the waste wood... [Read More]

Greencoat Capital has launched a new closed-ended private markets fund, Greencoat Renewable Income (GRI), for investments in bioenergy, wind, solar and renewable heat. The firm has secured £277 million (€333 million) of commitments from UK pension investors Brunel and the Trustee of the Superannuation Arrangements of the University of London (SAUL). GRI offers institutional... [Read More]

Biogas Marrum, a Dutch company owned by HoSt, has received the internationally-recognised Better Biomass sustainability certificate. The certificate (NTA 8080) confirms the sustainable origin of the renewable gas produced by the firm, with a carbon dioxide (CO2) emission reduction of 94.4%. It is issued to companies that produce, trade or process sustainable biomass... [Read More]

Versalis, an Italian chemical company and subsidiary of Eni, has announced that the biomass plant it acquired in 2018 has been restarted. Versalis acquired M&G’s bio companies after the firm filed for bankruptcy in Europe and the US in October 2017. The acquisition included the assets and resources related to development activities, industrialisation, technologies... [Read More]

A waste wood fire covering the size of a football pitch with flames soaring nearly four storeys high broke out on 14 February in Singapore. The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) assisted firefighters on the scene in Choa Chu Kang in western Singapore. The fire started on an open plot of land and is believed to have been caused by waste wood left in the area by a... [Read More]

British company Active Energy Group (AEG) has applied to the state Division of Air Quality to build and operate a wood pellet plant in Lumberton, North Carolina. Work is progressing at AEG's commercial hub at the Lumberton site to facilitate the commercial production of CoalSwitchTM and second-generation biomass pellets. According to the company, during the last 90... [Read More]

GE has announced it will provide renewable steam technology for the high-efficiency Kamisu Biomass Power Generation plant in Japan. Under a contract signed with Hitachi Zosen, which will act as the project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, GE’s Steam Power division will design, manufacture and supply the core components of the project’s... [Read More]

Grants for four projects to support forestry contractors and boost wood pellet production worth $2.7 million (€2.44 million) have been allocated by the Forest Enhancement Society of British Columbia (BC). The grants will help to increase the use of wood fibre that otherwise would have been burned. Doug Donaldson, the Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations... [Read More]

Germany bioenergy firm innogy has sold is German biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant and wood pellet production facility to Cycleenergy. Cycleenergy operates three biomass plants and two pellet production facilities in Austria. It also plans, finances and builds decentralised, base-load capable energy solutions in Austria and its neighbouring countries. The... [Read More]

British Columbia, Canada-based firm Skeena Bioenergy is donating industrial wood pellets to local communities due to a shortage. In response to the ‘significant local need’ for home heating pellets, the company has partnered with the Kitsumkalum Economic Development Group to host a ‘Community Pellet Day’. In a statement, the company said: “On Saturday, February... [Read More]

Nevada, US-based NV Energy is requesting proposals to add new renewable energy projects to its portfolio. The company is seeking proposals for all areas of renewables, including biomass, biogas, wind, solar and geothermal, which are compliant with Nevada’s existing renewable portfolio standards. The announcement follows the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada’s... [Read More]