News

Universal Adsorbents and Chemicals (UAC) has formed a joint venture with Italy-based biogas company Sebigas to design and build biogas pants in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The subsidiary company – UAC Energy – will oversee the design and construction of biogas facilities in addition to providing operation and maintenance services. UAC expects the new JV subsidiary to…
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Aemetis, an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, has been granted US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval to produce ethanol using grain sorghum and biogas. The move means the plant’s existing combined heat and power system can generate higher-value D5 advanced biofuels renewable identification numbers (RINs). The EPA approval also includes D5 RIN generation for…
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A multi-university study into biomass-to-energy has claimed to have found a new lignin gene which could aid conversion. A research project involving universities in Scotland, the US and Belgium used the model plant Arabidopsis thanliana and identified an enzyme called caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE), which fulfils a central role in lignin biosynthesis. The research says by removing the CSE gene…
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EDF Renewable Energy has closed a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of Heartland Renewable Energy's biogas plant. The project, which features a 20MW anaerobic digester and renewable natural gas (RNG) facility, is already under construction with biogas deliveries to begin by the second quarter of next year. The plant, located in LaSalle, Colorado, will handle organic…
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China Chant Group is developing a new biomass-fired power plant in China's Shandong province. The new plant will generate more than 200MWh of renewable electricity using cotton straw, bark and rice husk when it comes online. DP CleanTech, a manufacturer of biomass-to-energy power plants, is building the facility and broke ground in August. This is the fourth biomass power plant to be delivered to…
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Sustainable energy investment firm Greensphere Capital and Stobart Biomass Products have entered into an agreement that will see Stobart's biomass division supply up to 1 million tonnes of biomass to existing and future power plants. Greensphere will be investing in a national platform of waste biomass power plants, which will be supplied by the framework agreement with Stobart's biomass…
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Denmark's Port of Frederikshavn has entered into a partnership with technology company Steeper Energy and Aalborg University in Denmark to develop a biomass-based plant to produce sustainable marine fuel. The new plant will initially produce between 50 and 100,000 tonnes of sulphur-free renewable fuel a year for the several thousand vessels passing through the port annually. It will use wood…
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Neoen, a producer of electricity from renewable sources, is developing a 65MW combined heat and power plant in Commentry, France. Following a call for tender, Areva has announced that it, in consortium with French boiler supplier Leroux and Lotz Technologies, has been awarded the €55 million contract to build the plant. It will use woodchips to generate 15MW of electrical power and 50MW of…
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The vote at the European Parliament concerning proposed changes to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and the Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) was taken on 11 September. The use of crop-based biofuels for land transportation has been capped at 6% of the total 10% aimed for by 2020 and MEPs also agreed to pass a 2.5% share from second generation biofuels. The final figure of 6% is…
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Latvia's largest combined heat and power (CHP) biomass plant has come online. Energy company Fortum developed the Jelgava-based plant, which uses woodchips to generate 45MW of power and 23MW of electricity – enough to benefit 85% of the city's heating capacity. It reduces the region's CO2 emissions by around 44,000 tonnes compared to 2010. Construction of the plant started in August 2011…
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Cool Planet Energy Systems, a developer of small-scale biorefineries for the conversion of non-food biomass into biofuels, is to build its first commercial facility in Alexandria, Louisiana. The $168 million (€125.9 million) plant will produce 10 million gallons a year of cellulosic fuel and biochar, which is a by-product of the refining process and is used as an agricultural supplement. In…
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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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