News

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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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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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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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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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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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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Flagship VentureLabs has announced Midori Renewables is to deploy a new catalyst technology which melts non-food biomass into low-cost sugar. The technology, branded Breaking the Biomass Barrier, is a solid material, not an enzyme, micro-organism or aqueous acid, that can be separated from the reaction and reused for the production of renewable products and animal feed. ‘We evaluated…
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With the vote on whether to cap first generation biofuel in transport fuel at 5.5% is due around the start of Biofuels International conference the timing couldn't be better. This is your last chance to register and hear from top biofuel producers, regulators and experts for only €300 a day (when two delegates attend) Topics covered will include whether a 5.5% cap is the best way…
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Nature Flame's wood pellet manufacturing plant in New Zealand caught fire on 3 September after two sawdust hoppers exploded. Around a dozen fire crews responded to the fire, which was contained by around 11pm. No-one was in the building when the incident happened and there are no reports of injuries. State-owned Solid Energy owns Nature's Flame although it has been operating as an independent…
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Wood pellet manufacturer and distributor Viridis Energy has started producing wood pellets at its wholly owned subsidiary, Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company. The plant, which was acquired in February 2012, is based in Middle Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia. At the end of August three of its five pellet presses went into service and the first shipment of 25,000 tonnes of pellets will be made in December.…
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The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) of Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of utility company Zesa Holdings, is looking to install a total 64 biogas plants across the nation. The REA, according to reports, has called for bids from companies and agents experienced in he design, sizing, positioning, construction and installation of institutional biogas digester units. The biogas digesters will be installed…
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The biomass industry must prove it is using sustainable materials from April 2015 otherwise it will lose financial support. This was the message given by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) as it announced its new criteria for sustainable biomass production. According to DECC, the UK's biomass sector – which it estimates is worth over £1 billion (€1.17 billion) in…
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Latvia's largest combined heat and power (CHP) biomass plant is due to come online later this month. Energy company Fortum developed the Jelgava-based plant, which will consume woodchips to generate 45MW of power and 23MW of electricity – enough to benefit 85% of the city's heating capacity. The inauguration ceremony on 11 September will be attended by Latvia's president Andris…
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The biomass to power sector is expected to grow substantially in the future and worldwide revenue from biomass power generation could reach $11.5 billion (€8.7 million) a year by 2020. This is according to a recent report from Navigant Research. This growth is being attributed to 'technological breakthroughs and the expansion of international trade in biomass pellets', which are expected to…
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