News

RusForest, a Swedish forestry company, has secured bank financing for its wood pellet plant currently under construction in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The pellet plant, being built by engineering firm Hekotek at the site of RusForest's existing sawmill, will have an annual production capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes and allow the company to monetise its sawmill by-products by exporting wood pellets to…
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A new wood pellet export facility is on the cards for the Port of Morehead City in North Carolina, US after the port signed an agreement deal with WoodFuels. According to the terms of the agreement, WoodFuels would finance and build a $25 million (€18 million) export facility at the port to receive, store and load wood pellets for export to Europe, where they would be used as a renewable…
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Concord Energy, a Singapore-based crude oil and refined petroleum product trading company, and technology supplier Cool Planet Energy Systems have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture in the Asia Pacific region. The new JV company will develop commercial facilities that will produce biofuels and biochar from non-food biomass. Concord Energy is an investor in Cool Planet, joining…
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Fuels producer Kior says it will double capacity at its Columbus, Mississippi cellulosic fuels plant through the construction of a second facility incorporating its technology. The project – Columbus II – is estimated to cost in the region of $225 million (€166.6 million). Construction will begin within 90 days of Kior raising sufficient equity and debt capital to commence the…
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DP CleanTech, a designer and commissioner and biomass- and waste-to-energy power plants, has signed a contract with Shougang Holding Tianguan Group to develop a biomass-fired power plant in Henan province, China. The project, which will be China's first biomass-to-energy plant, will use the by-product feedstock from second generation ethanol production. It will be a key part of the cellulosic…
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Biomass-based heating system operators in the UK face losing entitlement to payment under the renewable heat incentive (RHI) unless they can ensure compliance with new sustainability requirements coming into effect on 5 October, 2015. Compliance with the new requirements must be agreed before 5 October to continue receiving RHI payments, according a message issued by the UK energy regulator Ofgem…
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Clearfleau, a UK-based provider of on-site anaerobic digestion (AD) solutions for food and beverage companies, has handed over its latest bioenergy plant at Diageo's Glendullan distillery. The Glendullan plant, which was visited by Scotland Office Minister Lord Dunlop on 13 August, optimises energy output using co-products from the distillation process. The project involved close collaboration…
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Greensphere Capital has acquired a biomass-fired power plant in Wales. The 14.7MWe Western Bio-Energy in Port Talbot was purchased with funds managed by Greensphere on behalf on the UK Green Investment Bank (GIB), Stobart and Signia investors. Greensphere says it led the deal and will manage the investment. Opened in 2008, the plant burns approximately 150,000 tonnes a year of feedstock to…
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Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with Chemieanlangenbau Chemnitz, has produced renewable fuel at its Bioliq (biomass to liquid karlsruhe) pilot plant. With the synthesis stage of the plant now operational, all stages of the Bioliq process (flash pyrolysis, high-pressure entrained-flow gasification and synthesis) are online and the pilot facility is a step closer to producer…
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Waste from dairy farms and beer breweries could provide the necessary ingredients to grow algae-based biofuels say the leaders of a project based in Vermont, US. The US Department of Agriculture awarded the association, which includes the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI), a $51,000 (€37,000) grant to research biofuels technology using algae during a news conference at…
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Canada’s wood pellet exports grew by 1% to a total of 781,083 tonnes in the first half of 2015 when compared to the same time period last year, data from Statistics Canada shows. Increased deliveries to the UK, Canada’s number one wood pellet export target, offset declines in shipments from Italy and South Korea, the data shows. Canadian H1 pellet exports to the UK totalled at 587,205…
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A $170 million (€128 million) 49.9MW biomass-fired power plant, developed by Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC) and its partner Novi Energy, has commenced its trial run. On 11 September the first flow of renewable electricity was connected to the PJM regional electric transmission grid during testing. The companies anticipate that pre-commercial operation testing and inspection…
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Ameresco, a provider of solutions for the renewable energy industry, has completed the construction of its 1.4MW landfill gas-to-energy project at Johnson Canyon Landfill in California. The company designed, built and now operates the renewable energy facility and SVSWA owns the landfill site. Under a 20 year power purchase agreement, the city of Palo Alto will buy the renewable energy. A portion…
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has formed a new partnership to increase the use of wood for energy purposes while helping to improve the health and safety of the nation's forests. Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said the new partnership includes the USDA, the Alliance for Green Heat, the Biomass Power Association, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council and the Pellet Fuels Institute. The…
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