Other News

Anaerobic digestion could be used to provide food for astronauts, according to new research from Pennsylvania State University. The Penn State team has shown that it is possible to rapidly break down solid and liquid waste to grow food in microbial reactors, while simultaneously minimising pathogen growth. "We envisioned and tested the concept of simultaneously treating astronauts' waste with…
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Enviva, the 'world’s largest' producer of industrial wood pellets, has released its latest Track & Trace data. According to Enviva, Track & Trace is a proprietary data system that enables the pellet producer to monitor every truckload of wood it procures from the forest throughout the entire supply chain process.   Controversy Last year, the Natural Resources Defense Council…
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A new study from MIT adds to growing criticism of biomass ahead of RED II decision. The European Biomass Association (AEBIOM) and the US Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA) have both taken out editorial space to make their case for biomass before the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) is finalised. In a new study slated to be published in Environmental Research…
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The cell improves on previous plant and algae-based devices, and its Cambridge creators hope that it will be substantially more cost-effective and practical to implement. The device works using biophotovoltaics (BPVs, also known as biological solar-cells): a method for converting energy from the sun into electricity. During photosynthesis algae produce electrons, which are then used to produce…
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Alkol Biotech and Bio Refinery Development have signed a letter of intent (LOI) for the sourcing of up to 500 thousand tonnes of non-woody lignocellulosic biomass for what would be Europe’s ‘largest’ biorefinery. UK based Alkol Biotech adapts plant varieties to grow in colder and drier climates, have better resistance to pests and diseases, and higher productivities. Its first…
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In his Autumn Budget, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond confirmed that there would be no fresh funds for new renewable energy projects levied through electricity bills until 2025 to help keep energy costs down. It said: "In order to protect consumers, the government will not introduce new low-carbon electricity levies until the burden of [energy] costs are falling. On the…
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Although renewables accounted for the vast majority of new EU power capacity in 2016, there are signs that the transition away from fossil fuels has lost some momentum in the past two years. Biofuels makes up the bulk of renewable energy use in the transport sector, according to newly released European Environment Agency (EEA) figures. Progress in that sector as a whole has been slow however,…
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) has used one of its modelling scenarios to predict that bioenergy will provide nearly 17% of final global energy demand in 2060, compared with 4.5% in 2015. In its latest Technology Roadmap, entitled ‘Delivering Sustainable Bioenergy’, the IEA provides the technology milestones and policy actions needed to unlock the potential of bioenergy in line…
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Cory Riverside Energy, a UK-based recycling, energy recovery and resource management company, has revealed ambitious plans to build an integrated, low-carbon energy park at its site in Belvedere, south east London. The energy park would complement Cory’s existing Riverside energy recovery facility (ERF), and comprise a range of technologies including waste energy recovery, anaerobic…
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The European Parliament Committee for Industry, Research and Energy has voted to adopt a target of at least 35% renewables in the EU’s energy mix by 2030. The vote, on 28 November, was in response to a report by José Blanco, MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, on the percentages of renewable energy in heating and cooling. Blanco said: “The industry…
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One of Europe’s largest private sector forest owners and a major player in the bioeconomy, Bergvik Skog is undergoing structural changes as part of a plan to acquire new forest assets and secure its supply of feedstock. Bergvik Skog owns approximately 2.3 million hectares of land in Sweden and about 0.1 million hectares in Latvia. As well as certified wood fibre sales and leasing out land…
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Estonian natural gas distributor Eesti Gaas has signed a contract with renewable fuels provider Rohegaas to buy around 11 million m3 of biomethane from the company over the next two years to sell at its compressed natural gas (CNG) stations. “I am very glad that in the new year we will start the sales of biomethane or green gas in all our compressed gas stations," said Raul Kotov, a…
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Bioenergy technologies combined with carbon capture and storage (CCS) can play a significant role in the UK’s future UK energy system, according to Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) strategy manager for bioenergy Hannah Evans. The ETI is a UK-based company formed from global industries and the UK government. It was formed in 2007, but its programme is officially ending at the…
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PowerHouse Energy Group moves forward with waste-to-hydrogen system design London-based clean energy company PowerHouse Energy Group announced that it had completed early design work on its UK-based 25 tonne-per-day synthetic gas (syngas) plant, according to news channel ProActive Investors. The pre-front-end engineering and design, or pre-FEED, stage validated the company's technology and its…
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