News

A Chatham House expert has welcomed the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) contribution to the debate on whether using wood-based biomass for energy is speeding up climate warming. Rob Bailey, research director of the Energy, Environment and Resources Department at Chatham House, told Bioenergy Insight: “It's good this discussion is being had and, while I disagree…
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The European Parliament has voted to restore the recycling targets for member states set out in the original incarnation of the Circular Economy Package tabled in 2014. The votes means by 2030, at least 70% by weight of so-called municipal waste (from households and businesses) should be recycled or prepared for reuse, (ie, checked, cleaned or repaired), say MEPs. The European Commission proposed…
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Wood pellet manufacturers in both the US and Canada are increasingly diversifying their feedstock to reduce fibre costs and take advantage of less utilised fibre sources, according to analysis by Wood Resources International. In a statement, the forest industry consulting firm said that the key fibre furnish in both countries are sawmill by-products and forest residues, together…
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Active Energy Group (AEG), a London Stock Exchange-listed firm and renewable energy specialist, has raised £11.57 million (€13.50m) via the issue of five-year convertible loan note to existing and new investors, with the cash set to be used to accelerate the development of the company’s CoalSwitch technology. In a statement, AEG said it plans to build the first…
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Hong Kong-based China Everbright International has announced that the group has signed a concession agreement for a household waste-to-energy project with the People's Government of Siyang County in Jiangsu Province, and will invest and construct the Siyang waste-to-energy project.  Siyang Project will be invested and constructed on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model with a concession…
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Environmental campaigning organisation Biofuelwatch has published a report which investigates a proposal for the world’s largest biomass gasification plant in Holyhead, and Orthios Group, the company behind it. The proposed plant would, if successful, gasify pellets or woodchips made from up to 3 million tonnes of wood every year, and it would supply heat to “the world’s largest…
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A team of researchers at the UK-based University of Cambridge has developed a way of using solar power to generate a fuel that is both sustainable and relatively cheap to produce. The team used natural light to generate hydrogen from biomass. In a statement, the researchers said:  “One of the challenges facing modern society is what it does with its waste products. As natural…
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The government of Canada is investing CAN$43 million (€27m) in the clean technology sector to help create jobs and stimulate growth in the environmental sector. Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains announced an investment of up to $20 million to support clean energy projects at the pre-commercialisation stage. This investment, part of a…
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 A 20MW energy from waste (EfW) plant is to be constructed in Tehran, Iran following the signing of a deal between Iranian Deputy Energy Minister for Electricity and Energy Affairs Houshang Falahatian and Chairman of Czech Parliament's Energy and Commerce Committee Milan Šarapatka in Tehran. According to a report by the Fars News Agency the plant will process 350 tonnes of…
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Eggersmann Group is expanding its product offering with the acquisition of fellow German firm and biological drying technology specialist Convaero. Eggersmann said that Bio-Dry, the biological drying technology of Convaero, is being integrated via an asset deal into its portfolio with immediate effect. Marienfeld based Eggersmann has been active in the mechanical-biological waste treatment market…
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The UK Treasury has announced that from 1 April 2018 landfill tax will be set at £88.95 per tonne for standard rate material and £2.80 per tonne for lower rate material. The rate of landfill tax will this year rise from £84.40 to £86.10 per tonne for the standard rate and £2.65 to £2.70 per tonne for the lower rate from 1 April, 2017. The announcement comes as…
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More than 125 academics have joined the International Energy Agency Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme (IEA Bioenergy) slamming Chatham House’s recent report on bioenergy, calling it ‘misleading. The group of academics from across the world and the IEA state that the report “does not present an objective overview of the current state of scientific understanding with…
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Growing sustainable energy crops without increasing greenhouse gas emissions, may be possible on seasonally wet, environmentally-sensitive landscapes, according to US-based researchers who conducted a study on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. Debasish Saha, postdoctoral in plant sciences, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and colleagues, measured the amount of nitrous oxide, a…
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US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has said that he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming. "I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the…
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