News

DONG Energy, a Denmark-headquartered energy firm, has unveiled plans to build a bio plant which turns unsorted household waste into energy in the UK. The plant, which the company will finance, build and operate, will use an enzyme technology it calls REnescience. DONG claims that "it will be the first bio plant in the world to handle unsorted household waste, without prior treatment, using…
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The Tasmania state government in Australia, is actively considering the use of biomass as a renewable energy source. Tasmania Minister for Resources Paul Harriss said that due to recent unprecedented events, including the failure of the Basslink, which is the world’s second longest undersea electricity cable, and low rainfall, the government is now considering the use of biomass to generate…
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Comet Biorefining will build its commercial-scale biomass-derived sugar facility in the TransAlta Energy Park in Sarnia, Ontario. The 60 million lbs/y plant will come online in 2018 producing dextrose sugar from locally-sourced corn stover and wheat straw. Corn stover consists of residues left in the field after harvest, including stalks, leaves, husks, and cobs. Using its proprietary patented…
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UK consumers could save more than £2 billion (€2.56bn) if the country’s government’s planned renewable energy auctions are opened up to include a wider mix of technologies, a new report finds. Drax, UK's largest power producer, commissioned NERA Economic Consulting and Imperial College to look at hidden costs that are not reflected in the contracts the UK government awards…
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Solar 21, an Irish renewable energy company, is set to build a 22MW biomass power plant near Hull in England. The company has acquired the project rights and is seeking to raise €60 million through a fundraising round for the scheme. The Hull plant is the first in a pipeline of five projects in partnership with energy recovery systems company Heat Recovery Solutions, Solar 21 says. The…
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IHI Corp., a Japanese heavy equipment manufacturer, will build a 49MW woody biomass power plant in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kagoshima. Construction will begin this year and the plant will start generating power by the end of 2018, the company said in a statement. The station will produce enough electricity to power 77,000 homes.  
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Covanta, a US waste management firm, has signed a new waste supply contract for Dublin's energy-from-waste (EfW) plant with Panda — an Irish waste and recycling collection company. To date, 60% of the facility's waste processing capacity has been secured under long-term contract. "We are pleased to have made significant progress in securing waste contracts on terms consistent with our…
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The European Commission (EC) has launched a consultation on the preparation of a sustainable bioenergy policy for the period after 2020. The objective is to consult stakeholders and citizens on an updated EU policy on sustainable bioenergy for the period 2020-2030, as part of the EU renewable energy package foreseen before the end of 2016. In a statement, the EC said: "Identified sustainability…
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The Australian state of Victoria is investing AUS$300,000 (€188,145) in anaerobic digestion (AD) projects to keep organic waste out of landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding will support local government and businesses to install small-scale on-site or precinct-scale AD technology for organics recovery and as an alternative energy source. With the investment the state…
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More than 110 environmental groups across the globe have signed a declaration demanding that bioenergy be excluded from the EU's next Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The EU is considering renewal of the RED for 2020 onwards in a consultation which ended yesterday (10 February). A decision is expected by the end of the year. The RED will determine Europe's path forward on meeting its carbon…
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FCC Environment, a UK-based waste management company, has announced that its Buckinghamshire energy-from-waste (EfW) plant has taken its first delivery of residual waste and is generating power. Staff at Greatmoor EfW site, near Calvert, welcomed the first batch of bulked waste recently after passing all the relevant inspections. It means the plant — which will treat up to 300,000 tonnes of…
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The US Supreme Court on Tuesday barred President Obama’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) from taking effect until legal challenges against the legislation are solved. In a tight vote of 5-4, the court decided to put the plan on hold after receiving a request from 27 US States, led by Texas and West Virginia, and several businesses to block the CPP. The regulation is intended to lower US power plant…
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Germany's energy wood and pellet sector had a difficult year in 2015 as falling oil and gas prices impacted on investment, according to a report by the Germany Energy Wood and Pellet Association (DEPV). In its annual report entitled Pellet market 2015 and Forecast 2016, the industry association said the "massive drop" in oil prices has "hampered" the pellet trade with only around 16,000 boilers…
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The Welsh Assembly has passed a new Environment Bill (Wales) that will cap the amount of waste sent to waste-to-energy plants. Set to come into effect in 2017, the Bill will require businesses to limit the amount of recyclable waste being sent for incineration and a ban on disposable food waste being discarded in sewers. Any businesses that fail to comply with the new regulations will…
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