News

Power giant Drax is set to buy energy supplier Opus Energy for £340m (€399m) as part of a strategy overhaul. Drax Group, which runs the UK's largest power station in Selby, said the acquisition will create Britain's fifth biggest non-domestic energy retailer. The company, which also announced the purchase of four gas turbine projects for £18.5m, is looking to move away from its…
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The UK now has almost 90 plants injecting green biomethane into the gas grid, double the number this time last year, a new report states. The statistics were published in the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) December 2016 Market Report, which investigates and explores the growth, developments and market changes in the AD industry to date. The report is being launched today…
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There is strong public support for producing bioenergy in the UK from both biomass and waste, according to a new survey carried out for the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). The YouGov survey, commissioned by the ETI, questioned over 5,300 adults to gauge public perceptions of bioenergy in the UK, and found that 74% of people surveyed support producing…
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US President-elect Donald Trump has selected Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma attorney general, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as its administrator. Pruitt has served as attorney general since 2010, prior to which he had an eight-year tenure in the Oklahoma state senate. He said that he intends to protect the environment, but at the same time safeguard businesses from…
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The use of gas to cook and for heating will be phased out in the Netherlands under the government’s new energy strategy up to 2050. Instead homes and offices will be heated by surplus heat generated by industry and energy-from-waste plants as well as from geothermal sources. The Energieagenda policy document, published on 7 December, 2016, states that gas firms will no longer be required to…
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Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) will use a by-product from its corn processing facility in Decatur, US, to produce a renewable natural gas, which will be distributed by Ameren Illinois into the nation’s natural gas infrastructure. “We’re proud to work with Ameren Illinois on this innovative project,” said Colin Graves, project manager for ADM. “Consumers and the…
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Green energy company Ecotricity has revealed it has submitted planning applications to build so-called Green Gas Mills at two proposed fracking sites in Lancashire, UK. The company has put in Green Gas Mill applications at two fracking sites in Lancashire: Preston New Road, rejected by Lancashire Council, but then approved by the government over the heads of local people; and Roseacre Wood, also…
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The bioenergy industry has given a mixed response to the European Commission’s revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The revised RED, published yesterday (30th November), strengthens the existing EU criteria for bioenergy sustainability and extends them to cover also biomass and biogas for heat and power, according to the EC. Commenting on the sustainability criteria, Didzis Palejs,…
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Retail heavyweights Waitrose, John Lewis and Argos long-distance lorries are among the first users in the UK of a renewable biomethane fuel which is 35%-40% cheaper than diesel and emits 70% less CO2. UK-based CNG Fuels will be supplying the retailers with compressed natural gas using biomethane produced from food waste. According to CNG Fuels, renewable biomethane fuel is 35%-40% cheaper than…
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The UK’s 540 anaerobic digestion (AD) plants now generate more energy than the landfill gas sector and represent 2% of total UK gas production. According to data from the UK Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), the AD industry’s success in the past 12 months – during which time over 100 new plants have come on stream – can be largely attributed to the…
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The Finnish Government has expressed its satisfaction with the sustainability criteria for the use of forest biomass in energy production in the European Commission's proposal for a new Renewable Energy Directive. The revised directive will create a solid foundation for increasing the use of renewable energy sources in Finland, said Olli Rehn, Minister of Economic Affairs. “What is crucial…
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EPH Lynemouth Power has awarded Emerson a contract to help convert the 44-year-old coal-fired Lynemouth power station to a new biomass-fuelled power plant. As main automation contractor and main electrical contractor, Emerson is responsible for helping the project come online within budget and on time. Should the conversion be finished on schedule in late 2017, the plant, near Newcastle in the…
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Air Liquide plans to construct and operate a landfill gas (LFG) to renewable natural gas (RNG) purification plant in Mississippi, US. The plant will enable the conversion of the methane emitted by waste to a renewable energy capable of heating an estimated 4,500 homes per year.   The site in Walnut, owned by the Northeast Mississippi Solid Waste Management Authority (NMSWMA), is operated by…
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A team of scientists at Bristol University have developed a technology that uses radioactive waste to create a nuclear powered battery encased in man-made diamond with a potential lifespan of thousands of years. The scientists behind the discovery say that it tackles the problems of nuclear decommissioning, clean electricity generation and battery life. The batteries could last 5,000 years,…
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