Biomass News

Avista Utilities, a Washington, US-based energy utility firm, is seeking proposals from renewable energy project developers who are capable of constructing, owning, and operating up to 120 average megawatts (aMW), whether through one or multiple proposals with a minimum net annual output of 20 aMW. Through a request for proposal (RFP), Avista intends to secure the output from renewable…
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DB Cargo UK has announced a new five-year ‘hook and haul’ contract to transport biomass supplies to Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire. DB Cargo, one of the UK’s largest rail freight operators, will run an average of 60 trains per week from the ports of Immingham and Hull to the power station near Selby. Each train will carry around 1,650 tonnes of biomass to the plant, which provides…
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Valmet Oyj will supply a complete district heating plant to Göteborg Energi AB in Gothenburg, Sweden. The new hot water plant, which is typically worth above €40 million, will reduce fossil carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by around 25,000 tons per year. It will replace two old boilers originally designed for oil and coal but converted to run on wood pellets in 2003. Demolition of the…
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The UK could see a “vast reduction” in renewable heat projects over the next 12 months and a potential return to fossil fuels if current government proposals are approved, according to the UK Pellet Council and Biomass Heat Works!. Representatives from the two organisations are urging those supplying to, operating within, or using biomass for domestic or commercial heating, to respond to…
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Companies that applied to the UK Government’s non-domestic renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme before 29 June will now have an additional 14 months to get their low-carbon heat generators up and running. The RHI was the first scheme of its kind in the world, according to the government, and the non-domestic RHI offers businesses a set tariff for 20 years for generate large-scale renewable…
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US firm SunGas Renewables, a supplier of biomass gasification systems, has entered into a strategic alliance with Hatch, a global advisory, development consulting, multidisciplinary engineering and project delivery firm. The partnership will leverage the companies’ technical expertise, engineering capabilities, and market knowledge to accelerate the deployment of SunGas’ biomass…
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Vattenfall Netherlands has delayed plans to build a major biomass plant in the country, claiming it is “not deaf” to the discussion surrounding biomass sustainability. The company, a subsidiary of Vattenfall in Sweden, said that due to ongoing discussions with politicians, municipalities and civil society organisations about the plans for the 120-megawatt biomass facility in Diemen, just…
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Drax Group has partnered with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (MHI), part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, on a new bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) pilot project at its power station in North Yorkshire. The project, testing MHI’s carbon capture technology, is set to begin in the autumn and marks another step in Drax’s quest to become carbon negative by 2030.…
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Aurora Energy Solutions, a new firm owned by Usibelli Investments, has acquired the assets of Superior Pellet Fuels (SPF) and is building a ‘state-of-the-art’ wood kiln in Alaska, US. The kiln will produce clean-burning dry firewood to help the greater Fairbanks area achieve required reductions in PM 2.5 emissions. Joe Usibelli Jr, managing member of Usibelli Investments, said: “We…
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A coalition of environmental advocacy groups has launched ‘Cut Carbon Not Forests’, a campaign to expose the UK’s “wasteful subsidies” for firms that burn trees to generate electricity. With the launch of the campaign, the groups hope to put pressure on policymakers to support reform. The multi-channel group, led jointly by Biofuelwatch, Dogwood Alliance, the Natural Resources…
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Vida Group, a subsidiary of US sustainable wood products and pellets firm Canfor, is to purchase three sawmills in Sweden. Vida will buy the sawmills from Bergs Timber for CAD$43 million (€28.2 million) plus working capital. The three facilities, located in Vimmerby, Morlunda and Orrefors, will add approximately 215 million board feet to Vida’s annual capacity. With further investment,…
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The US Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA) and the Renewable Energy Agency (REA) have hit back against claims made by think tank Ember. Ember’s report, ‘The Burning Question’, shared its research to show why the UK should end tax breaks on burning wood biomass for power, revealing that subsidies of more than £13 million (€14.5 million) are provided to major biomass plants, such as…
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Finnish health food and fish feed manufacturer Raisio Group will use bioenergy to reduce emissions at its Nokia oat mill. Working with local energy firm Adven, the company will implement a new heating plant at the site, which will use the by-products generated in the mill’s oat production as fuel. With the new heating plant, Nokia’s mill will be carbon neutral, according to Adven, and…
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The US Department of Corrections (DoC) has received its first grant for a proposed wood biomass energy system at Larch Corrections Centre in Washington State. The aim is to install a modern, efficient biomass system to offset the use of fuel oil for heating and domestic hot water, according to the grant application submitted to the US Forest Service. According to the DoC, the Larch facility…
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