News

The partnership between New Page and Nova Scotia Power, coated papers producer New Page Port Hawkesbury, has proposed a biorefinery that will be constructed on the Canadian island of Cape Breton. The facility would convert waste biomass from forests into 60MW of electricity, benefitting 30,000 homes. However the proposal is not being well received by local residents due to the belief that…
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British-owned energy supplier British Gas is to form a venture with Thames Water and Scotia Gas Networks that will see the construction of a new biomass pilot plant in Didcot, UK. The plant will clean biomethane gas collected from human waste before injecting it into the grid to be used in kitchens and as heating. The facility will be built at Didcot sewage works as this is where Thames Water…
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It is estimated that the UK will be left with a shortage of wood chips following the increase of commercial-scale biomass-to-energy plants. According to a report from the Confederation of Forest Industries (Confor) titled Wood Fibre Availability and Demand in Britain 2007-2025, Britain will, for the first time, become reliant on wood chips and pellets as the demand for biomass will exceed…
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Bioenergy International expo & conference is organised by leading publication Biofuels International (BI) magazine, and here Antti Pasanen (AP), Doctor of Technology for St1 Biofuels, provides an insight into what he will be speaking about at the event in Prague, Czech Republic, on 5-6 May. BI: What is the main subject of your presentation? AP: I am going to give a speech, about new…
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US-based derivatives marketplace CME Group has launched trading and clearing services for four new European biofuel swap futures contracts. Trading will be available on the New York trading floor and clearing services through CME ClearPort, a set of flexible clearing services open to over-the-counter (OTC) market participants to substantially mitigate counterparty risk and provide neutral…
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Germany-based utility E.ON is expanding its biomass power plant portfolio. The company has switched on two new biomass power plants in Slovakia and expects another two more to come online in the coming months. The total installed capacity of the €16 million project would be 4MW, supplying enough electricity to power nearly 14,000 households. Each plant has 1 MW of installed…
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Agribusiness and biodiesel producer Cargill has launched a second manure-to-biogas project in the US. The project is up and running at the Bettencourt Dairy B6 Farm in Jerome, Idaho. It uses manure produced by the farm’s 6,000 cows, generating enough renewable methane to make electricity for about 1,100 typical homes. This is Cargill’s third foray into dairy cow biogas in Idaho. The…
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Tanquid, OPEC, Vopak, Mestilla, Petrom, Amerifina Bio-Fuels, Noil Energy Group, Enamo, MÜNZER Bioindustrie, OK a.m.b.a, LSPO Oy, BTP Biodiesel, Slovnaft, GREENEA, Noil Energy Group, Coalandoil, italgest, Shimadzu Europa, Camlin Fine Chem, Transpetrol – just some of the names registered for the third Bioenergy International expo & conference, organised by leading global publication Biofuels…
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Hawaii-based ClearFuels Technology has signed a letter of agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to build a biorefinery in Colorado. ClearFuels will receive an initial $7.7 million (€5.6 million) toward the construction of the Colorado refinery as part of an overall $22.6 million DoE grant. The ClearFuels-Rentech biorefinery in Colorado is scheduled to be completed by the end of…
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Energy giant Drax faced protests during its annual general meeting in London over its use of public subsidies to support its coal and wood-burning power station. Protesters came to the Drax power station site near Selby, North Yorkshire on 20 April, 2015. They also campaigned outside the company’s AGM in London on the same date, with banners stating ‘axe Drax’. Speaking…
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Generating power from the stalks and straw of sugarcane, also known as bagasse, is becoming increasingly popular in Brazil. Power generation and distribution company CPFL is cashing in on this new trend and is in the development stage of building three bagasse-to-fuel power plants. Costing €155 million, these power plants will have a total output of 145MW.
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Biomass energy development firm Helius Energy has posted a first half net loss of £0.6 million (€0.7 million) compared with a pre-tax profit of £18,875 last time. At the end of March this year the company reported a cash balance of £12.8 million (H1 2009 £16.8m) and its net assets totaled £30 million (H1 2009 £34 million). According to Adrian Bowles, chief executive at Helius, the…
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In the UK the Isle of Wight’s first combined heat and power (CHP) generator has been granted planning permission. Following opposition from Calbourne Parish Council, the councillors did a U-turn and decided to support the facility as long as noise and emission levels produced by the generator were frequently monitored. With the capacity to generate 100KW of electricity and 250KW of heat, the…
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The Zalaegerszeg Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is undertaking a demo plant in Hungary that will see the production of transport fuel from biogas. DMT Environmental Technology will supply the plant with a biogas upgrading system that has the capacity to process between 40 and 80Nm3 of biogas an hour. The WWTP converts biogas from the combined heat and power (CHP) digesters and is unique…
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