News

Petrochemicals manufacturer Sabic has launched its first portfolio of certified renewable polyolefins, certified under the ISCC Plus certification scheme, which involves strict traceability and requires a chain of custody based on a mass balance system. Mark Vester, business leader LL-LDPE, Sabic, adds: 'We have optimised our technology to allow the production of renewable PP and PE…
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Gasrec, a supplier of liquefied gas fuel for transport, has announced it will launch an 'open access bio-LNG filling station in the UK's southwest on 1 June. The new low emission station is part of a growing national network and will initially supply around 30 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) run by a number of existing Gasrec customers. The facility and others in Gasrec's network will help HGV fleet…
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Energía Reino Verde ('Green Kingdom Energy'), which will own and operate the 12MW biomass power plant to be co-located with a 2,100 acre Giant King Grass (GKG) plantation in Nicaragua, has signed a contract with Pelican to conduct a formal feasibility study of the project. Energía Reino Verde is a 50-50 partnership of Viaspace and prominent Nicaraguan partners. Pelican develops,…
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Renewable energy company Biomass Supplies has applied for sustainability certification under the RSB. Biomass Supplies is pioneering partnerships with small farmers and land owners to access biomass supply that can be used both for pellet production and for power generation. RSB's planned sustainability certification will cover Gliricidia, a fast rotation coppice tree, used as a fence in Sri…
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Five new biomass plants with a total generation capacity of 10MW came online in the US last month, according to the Energy Infrastructure Update for April, published by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Since the start of 2014, 12 biomass-fired facilities producing a total 20MW of renewable energy have commenced operations. During the first four months of 2013, 35 biomass units…
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AEG Pelleting (AEGP), a newly incorporated subsidiary of pellet supplier Active Energy Group, has unveiled a biomass fuel granulated solution. Using a newly developed pilot plant in Belfast, the granulation system has successfully converted industrial/agricultural by-products, including sawdust, into high value biomass fuel granules suitable for use in micro combined heat and power (CHP)…
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RusForest, a Sweden-based forestry firm with operations in Russia, has reported that its total revenue reached $66.4 million (€48.6 million) in 2013. This is compared to $67.9 million 2012. The company's operating loss, which was $93.2 million in 2012, dropped 73% to $29.9 million last year. Operations at RusForest's 100,000 tonne per year pellet mill in Russia's Arkhangelsk commenced…
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Wood pellet exports from the US almost doubled last year, from 1.6 million tonnes (approximately 22 trillion Btu) in 2012 to 3.2 million tonnes in 2013. This is according to the US Energy Information Administration. Over 98% of these exports were shipped to Europe, and 99% originated from ports in the south eastern and lower Mid-Atlantic regions of the country. In 2008 it was predicted that…
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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced support for agriculture producers and energy facilities working to turn renewable biomass materials into clean energy. The support comes through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which was reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and will resume this summer. The Farm Bill authorises $25 million (€18 million) annually for BCAP,…
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A number of European companies are interested in investing in Malaysia's 'lucrative' biomass sector, reports say, which is estimated at RM9.6 billion (€2.2 billion). Malaysia Biomass Industries Confederation president Datuk Leong Kin Mun was quoted as saying that investors have expressed interest in developing wood pellet manufacturing plants, biomass-fired power plants and methane capture…
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Repreve Renewables has purchased certain genetic assets or germplasm for its giant miscanthus grass product development programme from Mendel Biotechnology, a privately held company in Hayward, California. The purchase adds Mendel's diverse miscanthus germplasm pool to Repreve's proprietary biomass crop establishment technologies, its current product development programme including the exclusive…
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Mercer International, a pulp manufacturer based in Canada, is considering entering the market for ENplus pellets through its German subsidiary ZPR. ZPR, it has been reported, has contacted various central European pellets manufacturers seeking quotes on a purchase quantity of around 5,000 tonnes of either ENplus or DINplus pellets for June, July, August and September. The pellets will then be…
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Assured Asset Energy (AAE), a UK-based company specialising in anaerobic digestion and waste gasification technologies, has set up £27 million (€33 million) in financing for up to 30 new on-farm biogas projects in Northern Ireland. The fund, AAE says, will help Northern Ireland reach its 2020 renewables target. Set out in the Strategic Energy Framework for Northern Ireland 2010, the…
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Aurivo, a multipurpose agricultural co-operative, has opened a biomass plant at its Dairy Ingredients site in Ballaghadareen, Ireland. The facility will operate as a combined heat and power plant, with Aurivo expecting to begin selling on excess energy to the national grid by 2016. It will use 30,000 tonnes of woodchips annually, sources from Aurivo's subsidiary company ECC Teoranta near…
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