News

Two international organisations have signed an memorandum of understanding to share and develop bioenergy sectors this March. Rotterdam Biomass Commodities Network (RBCN) and the Wood Pellet Association of Canada will now cooperate together by sharing knowledge and organising biomass events. ‘RBCN is an organisation dedicated to strengthening and promoting the Dutch bioenergy sector and…
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Norwegian investment company Byggleverandørene has added a wood pellets plant to its portfolio in Lithuania. The Biowood Nordic plant cost LTL 4 million (€1.1 million) to construct via almost LTL 2 million of EU and government aid received under the scheme supporting migration of farming companies towards non-farming activities. ‘It is a new plant, built from scratch in…
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Gulf Coast Renewable Energy will locate a $25 million (€19.2 million) wood pellet plant in Mississippi, US. CGRE says the plant will be situated on 40 acres in George County and should create around 30 new jobs. Construction will take 14 months and a request for help with adding an access road is currently pending. Over 150,000 tonnes of pellets a year will initially be produced, with the…
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A multi-million wood pellet storage facility is still a real concern at the Port of Liverpool, UK. The two-stage facility, to be built by Peel Ports, is reportedly costing £60 million (€68.6 million) during phase one and will be able to store 100,000 tonnes of pellets to supply a biomass power station planned at the port. The new storage facility is expected to be housed at Alexandra…
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A new bioenergy project in Wisconsin, US has received the financing to complete its dairy-based electricity production. GreenWhey, the company behind the project has secured the $28 million (€21.5 million) needed to secure the future of an anaerobic digester which will turn 500,000 gallons of diary wastewater into 3.2MW of electricity. ‘The project is believed to be the first…
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Jatropha developer Joil has signed a memorandum of understanding to develop plantations in West Africa with Agritech Faso. The pair will explore the development of 250,000 hectares of jatropha plantations intercropped with food crops using Joil’s high-yielding varieties. Field trials will also be carried out using Joil’s growing materials at Agritech’s plantations in Burkina…
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The American Biogas Council (ABC) has applauded the introduction of the Biogas Investment Tax Credit Act of 2013 which would provide a 30% investment tax credit for qualifying biogas technologies. The bill would add biogas to the list of renewables that already receive a 30% federal investment tax credit and projects that inject renewable natural gas into the gas pipeline or use the biogas to…
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It has been reported that UK MP’s have agreed to give subsidies for burning wood and plants in the country’s power plants. Backing a government stance that supports the inclusion of biofuels in the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and “keeping the lights on”, a BBC report claims an all-party committee agreed new payments for renewable energy including palm oil…
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During a radio debate on 6 March UK energy minister John Hayes said biofuels were part of an overall energy mix needed by the country, not a stand alone concern. Hayes and former government chief scientist Sir David King were part of a BBC Radio Four debate on renewable energy. King, mirroring concerns over indirect land use change throughout Europe, said trees chopped down for biofuels use meant…
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India-based Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is to branch out its feedstock reach for its biogas plant, which is currently under construction in the Gajrawadi region of the city. Alongside vegetable waste and animal carcasses VMC will also look to incorporate hotel waste as raw material to feed to the plant. It already collects around 10 tonnes of vegetable waste from one market area alone…
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Sino Bioenergy has announced the signing of a 10-year sales contract by its subsidiary Huizhou Shi Ji Wu Feng Agricultural Biotechnology (HB) to supply rice super seeds to Jiangxi Jingcai Nonglin Science and Technology (JJN). The contract includes consulting and technical guidance as well as providing promotional materials to JJN. The contract is expected to generate $1.46 million (€1…
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The California Energy commission has injected a multi-million boost into a pilot ethanol plant from Mendota Advanced Bioenergy Beet Cooperative. Mendota will use the $5 million (€3.8 million) to construct a plant that aims to produce 285,000 gallons of ethanol from 10,000 tonnes of beet feedstock. The plant is reported to be situated in Five Points. ‘Farmers need alternative crops that…
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Saxlund International, a UK subsidiary of energy and environmental technology group Opcon, is to provide its bulk material handling and storage knowledge to a new wastewater treatment facility this year. The contract comes from Anglian Water, the largest water and wastewater company in England and Wales, and represents the fifth time the two companies will have worked together on wastewater…
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US-based renewable energy company Ameresco has completed its first operational year at its renewable energy fuelled cogeneration facility at its Savannah River site (SRS). The facility came online in conjunction with the US Department of Energy’s (DoE) single largest renewable Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC), awarded to Ameresco in 2009 to finance, design, construct, operate,…
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