News

This years Bioenergy International expo & conference is only two weeks away and an exciting line up of speakers, exhibitors and attendees are getting ready to meet at the Coast Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre in Calgary, Alberta on the 28th and 29th of September. Along with the concurrent expo the conference will not only look at market targets and regulations in Canada and the…
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Rentech, a Los Angeles-based wood pellet manufacturer, has provided an update on the progress of its Canadian pellet operations as part of the company's fourth quarter and full year financial results report. Keith Forman, CEO of Rentech, said: "We shipped approximately 48,000 tonnes of pellets to Drax in the first quarter of this year, produced from the Wawa and Atikokan plants [based in…
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In Mason County, US, biopower joint venture Adage has signed its first fuel-supply contract. The company is currently developing a $250 million (€194.9 million) plant in Shelton and now the largest private timberland owner in Mason County – Green Diamond Resource – will provide an estimated 20% of Adage’s yearly 604,000-tonne wood supply. The plant is expected to take two-and-a-half…
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On the south coast in the port of Southampton, UK, biomass energy development firm Helius Energy is looking to build a biomass power plant. Helius has already signed an option to lease a 20-acre site on which the 100MWe facility will be built. ‘Securing this site for Southampton for our proposed 100Mwe renewable energy power plant is an important addition to our strong portfolio of…
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Renewable energy joint venture Forth Energy’s plans to construct a biomass power plant at the port of Dundee, Scotland, are set to be lodged with the Scottish government. With Scotland aiming for half of its electricity and 11% of its heat to be produced from renewable energy in 10 years’ time, it is thought that the facility would be well received by all. However the power plant is…
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Nearly 569,000 people work in clean energy throughout the US Midwest, according to an analysis released by Chicago-based Clean Energy Trust (CET) and the business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Clean energy jobs throughout the region are expected to grow by more than 4% over the next year, with the possibility for even more growth with the right policies in place, the report says. The…
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Amec Foster Wheeler, a UK engineering company, has been awarded a contract to supply a biomass dust combustion plant for Finnish utility company Seinäjoen Energia. The plant will be operated as back-up for a peak load district heating plant and increase capacity to 120MWth. Heavy fuel oil combustion will be replaced with biomass based fuels, including wood pellets, wood briquette, bark and…
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In Lancashire, UK, Quercia has designed a project that will see the generation of bioelectricity from landfill gas. Located at Clayton Hall Landfill Site the landfill waste project has been operational since June this year, producing enough renewable electricity to benefit 700 households. It will also dramatically reduce carbon emissions by the equivalent of 30,000 tonnes. The methane gas…
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In Ohio, US, following its application filed in December 2009, energy company FirstEnergy has been granted permission to convert two of its existing coal-powered generators in its R.E. Burger power plant to use biomass fuels. The conversion is expected to cost $200 million (€156.7 million) and, once complete, will make the facility one of the largest biomass-powered plants in the US. The…
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The global biomass pellet market was valued at $6.9 billion (€6.17bn) in 2014 and it is expected to grow with a CAGR of 11.1% during the 2015-2020 period, a study published by P&S Market Research says. The increased level of investments in the biomass industry has propelled the technological advancement, and there has been a recent upsurge worldwide in co-firing of…
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California’s energy policy and planning agency, California Energy Commission, has approved $4.3 million in grants for projects to increase the efficiency of natural gas technology used in industrial, agriculture and water processes. The Gas Technology Institute, a US-based research and development organisation that focuses on natural gas, received two grants totalling nearly…
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Gasification systems manufacturer Nexterra Systems and GE’s Jenbacher gas engine division has developed a new biomass combined heat and power (CHP) system that will make its first appearance at the University of British Colombia, Canada. The biomass facility will generate 2MW of electricity a year from approximately 12,500 tonnes of dry wood waste, some of which will be provided by the city…
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Wood products manufacturer Sierra Pacific Industries has shut down its biomass plant in Loyalton, California, US. The plant has been losing money for the company since the 1 June 2010 and the permanent closure comes after the facility was shut on 12 September 2009 after Sierra Pacific blamed difficult economic conditions. However it reopened again at the beginning of 2010. Before its closure…
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The UK-based Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has called for greater emphasis on progressing carbon capture and storage (CCS) and building a UK bioenergy sector in the next 15 years. ETI says increased attention in these areas is necessary if the UK is to meet its targets for decarbonising its energy system in the most cost effective way. The call was made by the organisation’s chief…
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