News

It has been reported that two men passed away on 10 June while trying to rescue people caught in a gas leak at an under construction biomass power plant in Bangkok, Thailand. According to local news reports the two men, a New Zealand engineer and a local employee, tried to save a husband and wife who had passed out in a three-storey ventilation chimney after inhaling toxic gas. Unfortunately…
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Sweden-based forestry company RusForest is set to work with AS Hekotek, a mechanical engineering company, to build a wood pellet production facility at its sawmill in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The facility will have an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes and allow RusForest to monetise its sawmill by-products by exporting wood pellets to Europe. Total investment is estimated to be approximately €10…
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Feedstock producer Viaspace has signed an agreement with Philippines-based sugar company Sagay Central (SC) to supply Giant King grass. SC manufactures and mills 150,000 tonnes of sugar a year, in raw, washed and Muscavado formats, for both domestic market and export use. The deal has been done to help diversify its renewable energy operations. ‘We are happy to be working on this important…
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The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has published its first market report on anaerobic digestion (AD). The report, the first of its kind, gives an overview of the issues facing the market and identifies the opportunities and barriers regarding investment. The key findings are detailed below: The sector is a growing opportunity: There was 106MWe of capacity installed or in construction by 2012,…
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A report in New Zealand regarding its forestry sector believes downstream industries like biochemicals and biofuels are ‘unlikely to flourish’ if established industries, like sawmilling, do not sell on their waste. The Woodscape study came about after collaboration between the forest and wood products industry, the NZ Ministry for Primary Industries and NZ Trade and Enterprise. It…
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Global technology provider Clarke Energy has assisted waste management business Agrivert to produce renewable energy in Oxfordshire, UK. Agrivert’s anaerobic digestion facility in Wallingford, Oxfordshire processes food waste collected from Oxfordshire County Council and other local sources to produce biogas used in a CHP plant, achieving fuel efficiency in excess of 84%. The anaerobic…
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The Biofuels Centre of North Carolina (BCNC) has completed its state-wide woody biomass assessment as a foundation for large biofuels production. BCNC coordinated with forestry consultants Gelbert, Fullbright and Randolph, plus the seven state economic development regions, in 2011 to undertake the completed three-part analysis of North Carolina’s wood resources.The report states North…
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Albion Ventures, a UK venture capitalist company, will launch a community-scale renewable energy company by raising up to £100 million (€117.4 million) in due course to power 35,000 UK homes. The company, named Albion Community Power (ACP), is looking to raise £25 million this year from retail investors and family offices, exclusively through intermediaries, to invest in a range…
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Enzyme producer Novozymes is to work with global healthcare company Novo Nordisk to begin large-scale biogas production. Wastewater taken from NN factories in Kalundborg, Denmark will go through a new 36m high biogas reactor to produce 47MWh of electricity a year, equal to power from seven wind turbines. ‘This enables us to reduce our CO2 emission with 21,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to…
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A lease agreement has been agreed by the North Carolina State Ports Authority with the council state to enter the wood pellet industry. The agreement between the authority and Enviva Holdings will see Enviva build a pellet export facility at the Port of Wilmington capable of receiving, storing and load wood-based products for European consumption. The facility will take around 18 months to…
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Accra in Ghana is to start generating power of lighting systems via biogas according to local news reports. The project is set to use treated human waste at the Tipping Station Worte ground via a $5 million (€3.8 million) waste treatment plant from Scamson Ghana. ‘This project can also commercialise the products of faecal sludge, including pumping back recycled treated water for…
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An investment of £10 million (€11.7 million) will be used by energy services company Roundwood Energy and biomass boiler manufacturer Woodpecker Energy to replace inefficient heating systems in the UK. Roundwood, advised by global law firm Bird and Bird, will receive £4.9 million from Energy Saving Investments, in which the UK Green Investment Bank is a cornerstone investor, with…
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A power plant in Finland is to rebuild its gas turbine control system to increase its reliability. Vantaan Energia (VE) will work with process technology provider Metso to replace the existing turbine control system that has reached the end of its life cycle at Martinlaakso. The project will include overspeed and vibration protection for the turbine, plus changes to turbine hydraulics, among…
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An investigation by Enagri suggests that Canada-based panel board manufacturer Norbord's lobbying against biomass energy was motivated by expediency and profits. Bioenergy Insight has learnt that Norbord recently paid an advertising agency to lobby MPs and place adverts in the National Press criticising the use of sustainable UK timber sources for energy generation. On its website, Enagri says,…
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