News

Algae.Tec, an algae production company, has received approval for its demonstration facility in Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia. The facility was approved under the Shoalhaven City Council Environment Planning and Assessment Act and the plant will be used to capture carbon dioxide waste from power stations and manufacturing facilities, feeding the pollution into the algae growth…
Read More »

The Port of Antwerp and chemical company Solvay have signed an agreement to carry out a feasibility study on the potential to build a biomass power station in the port. Output at the proposed plant would be large, between 200-400MW, or enough to power between 500,000 and 1 million homes. Under the agreement the two companies will draw up the outlines of the project, hoping to gain investment from…
Read More »

A consortium including the Japanese Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding has been awarded an order to construct a biomass combined heat and power plant in Cramlington, UK. The 27.8MW facility will be built by Mitsui’s subsidiary Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor as a turnkey solution in a consortium with the Danish boiler supplier Burmeister & Wain Energy. The contract also…
Read More »

Enviva Holdings, one of the world’s largest wood pellet producers, is establishing the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund. The $5 million (€4.6m), 10-year programme is designed to protect tens of thousands of acres of bottomland forests in northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia in the US. The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund (EFCF), administered by the US Endowment for Forestry…
Read More »

Biofuels company Gevo has been given a $5 million (€3.7 million) grant by the United States Department of Agriculture to develop bio-jet fuel from woody biomass and forest product residues. The grant is part of the $40 million that has been given to the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance, a consortium led by Washington State University. With the funding, Gevo plans to use woody biomass…
Read More »

Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) is looking to build a biomass plant in the town of Le Sueur, Minnesota, US. The $30 million (€22.3 million) project would generate 8MW of renewable energy from a variety of feedstocks including sweet corn silage, and waste from potatoes and beans. MMPA has secured some supply contracts with local food processing companies, and is currently working to…
Read More »

In the US, Marathon County Court has overruled a civil lawsuit which was brought against the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Domtar and We Energies are jointly developing a $225 million (€167.5 million) biomass plant in Rothschild, Wisconsin, US, but local group Save Our Air Resources (SOAR) is worried about the environmental impact the plant would have on the local area. SOAR filed…
Read More »

One hundred and sixty wood pellet producers in 41 US states will receive grants from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand their biomass and biofuel output capacities. Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack made the announcement on 27 September, highlighting that the financial backing will help support the economy and the biofuels market in the US. ‘Renewable energy production will…
Read More »

Two Canadian organisations, the Wood Pellet Association of Canada and the Quebec Wood Export Bureau, have partnered to help develop eastern Canada's wood pellet export market. The joint venture, which was announced on 29 September, is expected to bring advantages to the region's industry by building on Quebec's network of wood pellet manufactures, 'mainly because of the strong competition…
Read More »

In its largest project to date, the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC) is to invest $150 million (€113.7 million) in the construction of a biomass-fired power plant in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. When it comes online in 2014 the plant will convert a variety of wood waste including bark, branches, sawdust and woodchips into renewable power. MLTC will sell all the power to a utility…
Read More »

Biodiesel has the potential to replace fossil-based heating oils, according to a new report by the UK Government and written by the UK's National Centre for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials (NNFCC). These non-renewable oils currently heat more than 1 million homes in the UK. Liquid fuels made from biomass (bioliquids), however, can be used to replace fossil-based fuels such as kerosene.…
Read More »

In the UK, Renewable Energy Generation's (REG), Leeds-based bioliquid-powered plant is ready to begin operating under the company's two-year National Grid contract. REG is a renewable energy developer and operator whose subsidiary REG Bio-Power was awarded a contract with National Grid in March. Under the contract, REG will supply Short Term Operating Reserve (STOR) to meet unscheduled power…
Read More »

In the US, the US Forest Service's Wood Education and Resource Center (WERC) has awarded a $70,000 (€52,000) grant to the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) and Resource Professional Group (RPG). BTEC and RPG have embarked on a joint venture to encourage energy cost savings and make commercial buildings more greenhouse gas saving. The project will educate building architects and biomass…
Read More »

The Board of biomass energy development company Helius Energy is to raise £6.55 million (€7.57 million) by way of a placing of New Ordinary Shares at £0.16 per share. This placing will raise a large sum of capital for Helius, and additional working capital that will allow it to further develop both its immediate and future projects. These include seeking to secure project level…
Read More »