Other News

Forest BtL Oy is developing a new biomass-to-liquid (BtL) plant on Ajos Island, Finland. The facility will utilise wood and by-products from the wood processing industry to produce approximately 140,000 tonnes of biodiesel and naphtha. The project is supported by the European Union NER300 funding programme for innovative renewable energy technologies. The front-end engineering and design (FEED)…
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Developer Klamath Falls Bioenergy has withdrawn its application to build a biomass-fired power plant near Klamath Falls, Oregon, Associated Press reports. The company said it would not have been able to meet its construction deadline of the end of 2013 due to delays in obtaining a state siting permit. This deadline was set by federal economic stimulus legislation, which was expected to fund 30%…
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The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is working to demonstrate that jet fuel can be manufactured economically and in large volumes from biomass materials such as switchgrass and has partnered with Cobalt Technology, the US Navy and Show Me Energy for the project. The results of these tests will help decipher whether the process can be ramped up for commercial…
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The global trade of woodchips has grown year on year from 2000 to 2011, the Wood Resource Quarterly reports. This is with the exception of 2009 when pulp production fell around 10% and the demand for wood fibre was down. From 2009-2012 woodchip imports reached just over 31 million tonnes, a 6.5 million increase. According to the report, much of this can be attributed to major investments in pulp…
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It has been reported that two men passed away on 10 June while trying to rescue people caught in a gas leak at an under construction biomass power plant in Bangkok, Thailand. According to local news reports the two men, a New Zealand engineer and a local employee, tried to save a husband and wife who had passed out in a three-storey ventilation chimney after inhaling toxic gas. Unfortunately…
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Sweden-based forestry company RusForest is set to work with AS Hekotek, a mechanical engineering company, to build a wood pellet production facility at its sawmill in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The facility will have an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes and allow RusForest to monetise its sawmill by-products by exporting wood pellets to Europe. Total investment is estimated to be approximately €10…
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Feedstock producer Viaspace has signed an agreement with Philippines-based sugar company Sagay Central (SC) to supply Giant King grass. SC manufactures and mills 150,000 tonnes of sugar a year, in raw, washed and Muscavado formats, for both domestic market and export use. The deal has been done to help diversify its renewable energy operations. ‘We are happy to be working on this important…
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The UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) has published its first market report on anaerobic digestion (AD). The report, the first of its kind, gives an overview of the issues facing the market and identifies the opportunities and barriers regarding investment. The key findings are detailed below: The sector is a growing opportunity: There was 106MWe of capacity installed or in construction by 2012,…
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A report in New Zealand regarding its forestry sector believes downstream industries like biochemicals and biofuels are ‘unlikely to flourish’ if established industries, like sawmilling, do not sell on their waste. The Woodscape study came about after collaboration between the forest and wood products industry, the NZ Ministry for Primary Industries and NZ Trade and Enterprise. It…
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Global technology provider Clarke Energy has assisted waste management business Agrivert to produce renewable energy in Oxfordshire, UK. Agrivert’s anaerobic digestion facility in Wallingford, Oxfordshire processes food waste collected from Oxfordshire County Council and other local sources to produce biogas used in a CHP plant, achieving fuel efficiency in excess of 84%. The anaerobic…
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The Biofuels Centre of North Carolina (BCNC) has completed its state-wide woody biomass assessment as a foundation for large biofuels production. BCNC coordinated with forestry consultants Gelbert, Fullbright and Randolph, plus the seven state economic development regions, in 2011 to undertake the completed three-part analysis of North Carolina’s wood resources.The report states North…
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Albion Ventures, a UK venture capitalist company, will launch a community-scale renewable energy company by raising up to £100 million (€117.4 million) in due course to power 35,000 UK homes. The company, named Albion Community Power (ACP), is looking to raise £25 million this year from retail investors and family offices, exclusively through intermediaries, to invest in a range…
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Enzyme producer Novozymes is to work with global healthcare company Novo Nordisk to begin large-scale biogas production. Wastewater taken from NN factories in Kalundborg, Denmark will go through a new 36m high biogas reactor to produce 47MWh of electricity a year, equal to power from seven wind turbines. ‘This enables us to reduce our CO2 emission with 21,000 tonnes annually, equivalent to…
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A lease agreement has been agreed by the North Carolina State Ports Authority with the council state to enter the wood pellet industry. The agreement between the authority and Enviva Holdings will see Enviva build a pellet export facility at the Port of Wilmington capable of receiving, storing and load wood-based products for European consumption. The facility will take around 18 months to…
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