News

March earlier this year saw consent granted to biomass energy development company Helius Energy and its power plant proposed for Avonmouth Dock on the Bristol Channel, UK. Since then the project has faced delays after the Coedbach Action Team (CAT) appealed against the proposal. However in September CAT’s legal challenge against the project failed and on 29 November the Court of Appeal refused…
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In Shenyang, China, Huishan Dairy is to turn biogas produced from cows into renewable energy. The dairy owns over 20 farms housing a total of 250,000 cows. Now, after installing what is claimed to be the world’s largest methane capturing system, the methane produced from around 60,000 of these cows will generate an estimated 5.6MW. The system collects methane from aged manure, which is…
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Tong Boitin of Germany-based biogas company BioEnergy Berlin GmbH has called on the Tanzanian government to do more to encourage biogas production in the nation’s rural areas. Boitin went on to say that Tanzania should follow in China’s footsteps by implementing a National Plan to improve its renewable energy situation. ‘In 1958 chairman Mao ordered the government to develop and promote…
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In northern Peru energy company Maple Energy is looking to commence the first phase of its ethanol and biomass project before the end of the year. Phase one of this $254 million (€191.4 million) development will see Maple Energy plant 7,800 hectares of sugarcane in the main estate. Upon construction, the plant, which is slated for mid-2011, will convert 5,000 tonnes per day of sugarcane into…
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In Auckland, New Zealand, Mayor Len Brown has started the nation’s first biogas-powered truck, in what is a joint venture between Transpacific, Greenlane Biogas, Dieselgas International and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa). The truck, which has been developed for the purpose of collecting rubbish, has undergone 24 months of research and testing and is almost…
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Renewable energy firm Southeast Renewable Energy is looking to build a biogas plant in Allendale County in South Carolina, US. Costing $50 million (€37.57 million), the facility would generate 15MW of energy from timber residues. Raine Cotton, Southeast Renewable’s president and CEO said that his company is ‘working diligently to get the last few steps of the project worked out,…
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In Ha Noi, Vietnam, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is to invest $100 million (€73.6 million) over an eight-year period to expand its Biogas Programme. The expansion project will see a further 100,000 biogas generators installed on farms across 35 provinces. According to the deputy director of the ministry’s Animal Husbandry Department Nguyen Thanh Son, ‘Accomplishing…
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In order to qualify for a $45 to $50 million (€33 to €36.8 million) federal grant, construction of the $250 million biomass/wood pellet plant planned for Pownal, Vermont, must begin before the end of this year. However, the owners of the facility are facing opposition from local residents who are claiming that more time is needed in order to realise the full environmental impact of the…
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The East Texas Electric Cooperative (ETEC) is looking to construct a biomass power plant in Woodville, Texas. The facility would cost in the region on $145 million (€105.6 million) to build, generating around 50MW of renewable energy. The not-for-profit cooperative, which consists of 10 utility providers, including the Rusk County Electric Cooperative, Panola-Harrison Electric Cooperative,…
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As the price for electricity has dropped in recent months, Akron, Ohio-headquartered energy company FirstEnergy Corp. has now announced that it is cancelling its plans to repower units 3 and 4 with biomass at its R.E. Burger Plant located in Shadyside. The new biomass-powered units would have been used to generate electricity, however FirstEnergy is now to shut down the units by 31 December…
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In the US, Memphis, Tennessee-based coated paper producer Verso Paper Corp. has launched a $40 million (€29.1 million) renewable energy project at its mill in Bucksport, Maine. By replacing coal with biomass in one of its boilers and installing a new 25MW turbine generator, the project will provide a 43% increase in thermal energy production from renewable biomass. It will also generate…
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Plantation Energy Australia, Australia’s largest manufacturer and exporter of energy wood pellets, has signed a four-year supply agreement with one of Japan’s largest trading companies, Mitsui & Co. The agreement is worth over AU$70 million (€50.6 million) and is the largest of its kind in Japan in terms of volume and value. Under the terms of the agreement Plantation Energy will…
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In the US EM Biogas has acquired the Huckabay Ridge anaerobic digestion facility in Texas from the estate of Environmental Power Corporation. Huckabay Ridge is one of the largest plants of its kind in the North America and processes agricultural manure and residues from food, grease, and other organic compounds into pipeline quality renewable natural gas. The Huckabay Ridge facility contains…
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Funding on a project to develop a methane gas purification facility at the city of San Diego's Point Loma wastewater treatment plant, and the installation of three fuel cells with a combined capacity of 4.5MW at multiple locations in San Diego, has closed. United Fund Advisors (UFA) recently completed the tax credit equity financing on the $45 million (€33 million) renewable energy…
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