News

Rose Hill Recycling has awarded a contract to Veolia to design and manage a 520kWe biogas-fired waste-based CHP energy plant in the UK. The CHP plant, in Gloucestershire, is fueled by the biogas derived from mixed food waste collected from across the Cotswolds and will save around 1750 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. With a focus on sustainability, the new CHP will increase the use of…
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EnviTec Biogas has opened its second laboratory to provide precise biogas analysis with ultramodern equipment and a full range of services from a single site. Specialists at the Lohne, Germany, laboratory utilise methods compliant with certification standards that are to be used in other major lab setups. “Our service management operations are naturally focused on minimising outages while…
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Waste recycling company Asticom K reports that construction is underway on a biogas plant in Kenya on a five acre plot of land donated by a local housing co-operative. The plant is being built with $12.7 million (€11.9m) funding from the multi-donor Climate Technology Initiative, according to the African Review. Asticom CEO Leah Tsuma revealed that the plant will be the first in Africa to…
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In a rare landmark case on the validity of patents covering biotech innovations, the Supreme People’s Court of China has decided in Novozymes’ favour in a trial against two competitors accused of infringing its enzyme patent. The patent dispute began in 2011, when Novozymes found evidence that Shandong Longda Bio-Products Co.and Jiangsu Boli Bioproducts Co., were producing and selling…
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Sustainable Biomass Partnership has suspended PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) from issuing certificates in Canada and the U.S. for not fulfilling an SBP requirement. According to an SBP statement, PwC did not effectively correct a major non-conformity and demonstrate conformity to the SBP requirements within the required timeframe. The suspension took effect 23 January. PwC has six months to…
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The development of large-scale energy projects, including the Site C hydroelectric dam, threatens to drive bioenergy and biofuel production away from British Columbia (B.C.), experts warn. Jack Saddler, a researcher at the University of B.C. and part of a project to convert forest residues to biojet fuel, told CBC News that big energy projects could drive out innovation in the industry. The Site…
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A biomass site, based near Daventry, Northamptonshire, UK,  is using Heliex GenSet technology to turn the steam produced in its steam-raising biomass boiler into electricity. The Pedigree Power recycling site, operated by Silvertree and developed by Larch Group, is converting up to 25,000 tonnes of waste wood per annum into a green source of power. The company said it has also been able to…
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Alberta is in a prime position to convert its coal-burning plants to biomass fuel in order to meet its climate targets at a low cost by using existing coal-firing infrastructure. This is the argument four University of Victoria researchers are making in a Policy Options article titled: Refuelling Alberta coal plants with biomass.  "Biomass, which today accounts for only 3% of…
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Canadian pulp manufacturer Mercer International has agreed to buy one of Germany's largest sawmills and a biomass power plant. Mercer International will acquire the Friesau facility for around CAN$55.1 million (€39.7m) plus defined working capital of approximately $9 million. Mercer International did not disclose the owner of the facility in its press statement. According to Mercer, the…
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French industrial gas manufacturer Air Liquide has completed its acquisition of ENN Clean Energy UK, subsidiary of China’s largest privately-owned energy company ENN Group. Air Liquide did not disclose the value of the transaction. ENN Clean Energy's natural gas stations in Wellingborough, Portbury, and Huntingdon in the United Kingdom, will now become part of Air Liquide's European network…
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Using biomass to generate low-carbon  electricity is a flawed policy that is speeding up and not slowing down climate warming, according to a new study from Chatham House. The report is entitled ‘Woody biomass for power and heat impacts on the global climate’. The study maintains that wood is not carbon neutral and emissions from pellets are higher than coal. Subsidies for…
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The Renewable Energy Association (REA), the UK’s largest trade association for renewable heat, power and transport, has slammed the Chatham House report on wood-based biomass and labelled it “misleading”. Yesterday (23 February), a report published by Chatham House, a London-based policy institute,  stated that using wood pellets to generate low-carbon electricity is a…
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Shares in UK-based construction firm Interserve have fallen by a third after the board announced that the costs of quitting the energy-from-waste (EfW) business are more than double those originally expected. The construction firm announced in August that it was leaving the EfW field after issues arose with its six contracts in the sector, noting that the ‘unique challenges’ of the…
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The UK should vary the pace at which it reduces carbon emissions by 2050 in order to prioritise energy policies that “keep the lights on”, according to a House or Lords committee. The Economic Affairs Committee examined the impact of the policies of successive governments on the electricity market.  In its report, "The Price of Power: Reforming the Electricity Market", published…
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