News

The UK-based European Bioenergy Research Institute (EBRI) has appointed a research consultancy to aid in its work. The Madano Partnership will provide EBRI, which is based at Aston University, with market intelligence and business development support. EBRI director of operations Tim Miller claims Madano won the contract because it demonstrated ‘sound knowledge of energy and its…
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Yokogawa America do Sul, a subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric Corp., has received an order from Areva Renewables Brazil, a subsidiary of France-based Areva, to deliver a control system for a biomass power plant that will be the largest facility of its type in Brazil. The plant is being constructed by Bolt Energias in Sao Désiderio, Bahia, in the north eastern part of the country. The facility…
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Chemical company BASF and biotechnology provider Dyadic International have entered into a non-exclusive worldwide research and license agreement.  BASF will be able to use Dyadic’s patented and proprietary C1 platform technology to develop, produce, distribute and sell industrial enzymes in certain fields for a variety of applications.  It will also fund research and development…
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The 2,000MW coal-fired Eggborough power plant in North Yorkshire, UK, may cease production and close for good in March 2016. Attempts to gain government support in order to convert the station to firing biomass failed. According to a statement released by Eggborough Power, the facility would need around £200 million (€179 million) in funding over the next three years to remain…
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A new biomass boiler plant in Canada is set to benefit cattle producers in eastern Canada and Quebec according to the government. The Sanimax facility in Lévis will handle carcass disposal and other related by-products and turn it into energy. It was funded by a repayable investment of $7.6 million (€5.9 million) from the federal government. Sanimax claims the plant will also reduce…
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Lonach Dairy Farm in Sri Lanka, owned by Sunshine Holdings (SH), has become energy self-sufficient after completion of an on-site biogas project. The facility uses cow dung and urine collected from on the farm to produced 100m3 of biogas a day, via a digester that SH claims to be one of the most advanced in the country. The farm uses the generated biogas to produce 140 units of electricity which…
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The Port of Pascagoula has received the last piece of funding it needs for a new wood pellet facility. The $30 million (€23.2 million) facility will be built along two terminals on the port’s Bayou Casotte after the project received $10 million in bond money after a $196 million bond bill was recently approved. Port director Mark McAndrews believes construction will begin before the…
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Biomethane technology provider Purac Puregas is to supply Scotia Gas Networks with a biogas upgrading plant. The facility will upgrade around 2,000Nm3/hr of raw biogas to grid specification, producing enough energy to heat around 7,500 homes. ‘This contract award represents a significant step change in the scale of biogas upgrading projects in the UK,’ says Jan Molin, MD of Purac…
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The European Commission has approved millions of Euros in aid for a biorefinery research programme. The Genesys programme will benefit from €39.8 million ($51.2 million) granted by the French government to the PIVERT IEED, an institute working in the field of low carbon energy. Genesys will aim to use oilseed and lignocellulosic biomass to produce heat and power primarily, but also…
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The UK’s first bio-LNG filling station was launched by the under secretary for the Department of Transport this May. The station, located in Daventry and built by Gasrec, is capable of fuelling up to 250 HGVs a day in the first phase from three bio-LNG dispensers. A second phase will increase that capacity to up to 700 vehicles. The used bio-LNG is Gasrec’s blend of liquefied natural…
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A new US wood pellet production facility owned by Enviva Pellets has been officially opened in North Carolina. The facility has a capacity of 500,000 tonnes a year and is set to support 79 full time employees and an additional 130 jobs in forestry and logistic sectors. The pellets will be exported through Enviva’s Port of Chesapeake export terminal in Virginia to European energy utility…
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The Renewable Energy Association (REA), whose members include both large and small biomass developers and suppliers, has released a private letter sent in April to three green campaign groups which appealed for a review of their strategy of “promoting … misinformation” and “deliberately facilitating confusion” about biomass among the general public. The letter,…
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A consortium of UK companies, led by the advanced waste to energy and fuels company Advanced Plasma Power (APP), has been awarded £11 million (€15 million) in government funding to develop a unique biogas plant. The funds will be used to develop and build the first plant of its kind to turn waste from local homes and businesses into a sustainable fuel to power heavy goods vehicles. The…
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A fire broke out at US-based Michigan Wood Pellet Fuel (MWPF) facility in the small hours of 6 May. Firefighters were alerted after members of the public reported smoke and flames coming from the building as three departments were alerted to tackle the blaze. Captain Chris Tinney of the Holland Department of Public Safety was quoted as saying that the fire was contained to a small area of the…
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