News

Cobalt Technologies, a producer of bio n-butanol as a renewable fuel and chemical, has signed a global cooperation and supply agreement with Andritz to integrate its lignocellulosic pre-treatment process for the production of n-butanol with Andritz's customized pre-treatment systems. The primary alcohol, n-butanol is a widely used industrial chemical found in paints, lacquers and other surface…
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Construction of a biogas plant in the UK stopped last week following a fatal incident. A 30-year-old male worker was killed in a 'crushing incident' on 11 June at Penare Farm in Higher Fraddon, Cornwall. According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the man was crushed when 'a temporary structure collapsed'. HSE inspectors are said to be working with Devon and Cornwall police to investigate…
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Switzerland-based Alter Energy Group has signed a letter of intent to acquire an operating wood pellet production plant in North Carolina, US. According to Edward Klaeger, AEG CEO: 'Our plan is to export the initial 110,000 tonnes a year of wood pellets to EU markets for the upcoming heating season.' The company will then increase capacity to 280,000 tonnes a year during 2015. Alter Energy says…
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Greenleaf Power, an owner and operator of biomass power plants in North America, has announced the closing of $100 million (€73.7 million), which it will use to acquire more biomass plants. Babson Capital Management is the agent for the financing institutions under the financing. To date the company has purchased five biomass-fired facilities with a total output capacity of 145MW. 'This…
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UK turkey producer Bernard Matthews is to fit 21 of its turkey farms with biomass boilers. A total of 179 biomass boilers will be installed at sites across Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. Bernard Matthews says 'the project highlights the growing demand for biomass within the poultry industry as companies seek to cut energy bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions'. As well as reducing…
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The European Investment Bank (EIB) is supporting energy firm Fortum Värme to design, build and operate a new biomass-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plant with a €260 million loan. The plant will be located in Stockholm and deliver heat to the existing district heating system in Sweden's capital and electricity to the public grid. The EIB is also financing the necessary biomass…
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InventivEnergy, an asset management firm, has selected NRG Energy Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of NRG Energy, to restart the Aspen Power biomass plant located in Lufkin, Texas. NRG will also operate and maintain the facility once it resumes operation. The plant first opened in August 2011 and was the first wood-fired biomass power plant in the state. It can consume about 525,000 tonnes of…
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Biogenic Reagents, a producer of biocarbon products from renewable biomass, has entered into an agreement with West Fraser, a US subsidiary of West Fraser Timber – the largest lumber producer in North America – to develop renewable biocarbon products. The parties will contribute capital and assets to a new company called Biogenic Reagents Ventures, which will operate existing, and…
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The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has launched a new online platform which will enable policy makers and other energy sector players to access the world's largest collection of global renewable energy standards and patents. The International Standards and Patents in Renewable Energy platform, also known as INSPIRE, is the first and most complete solution of its kind, helping users…
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Mark Rising of Johnstown, New York, has been named health and safety manager at ReEnergy Holdings. Rising has more than 30 years' experience in industrial health and safety management. Before joining ReEnergy, he worked most recently as a safety specialist at PSEG Bethlehem Energy Center. Prior to that, Rising was a programme safety manager supporting Antarctica mission locations for the 109th…
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RusForest, a Swedish forestry company with operations in Russia, has signed a long-term contract for pellet sales from the company's LDK-3 wood pellet mill in Arkhangelsk. RusForest has entered into a sales contract for 60,000 tonnes of pellets, a majority of the company's annual pellet production. The pellets, which will be sold through a trading house focused on bioenergy, are expected to be…
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Finnish pulp and paper manufacturer Stora Enso has acquired 100% of the shares of the US-based company Virdia, a developer of extraction and separation technologies for conversion of cellulosic biomass into highly refined sugars and lignin. The transaction is valued at $33 million (€24 million), with additional potential payouts totalling approximately $29 million following completion of…
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Areva, a France-headquartered supplier of bioenergy facilities, has delivered a biomass power plant to U-Thong Bio Power in Thailand. Built jointly by Areva and its partner Ensys, the installation is located in the Suphanburi province in Thailand. The facility is designed to generate 9.9MWe of energy using rice husk and bagasse. This is enough to benefit around 8,000 households. Under the…
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A biomass-fired power plant in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India has been destroyed following a fire on 22 June. According to reports, the fire started in a bagasse pile kept on the plant's premises. No one was hurt and the cause of the fire is under investigation. Fire fighters were still working to fully extinguish the blaze on 23 June.
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