Other News

The big questions around bioenergy and climate change are being tackled in an innovative way, with a new graphic novel from the Supergen Bioenergy Hub based at the University of Manchester. Aimed at both a general audience and children, the graphic novel addresses big questions for the bioenergy sector, including: What is bioenergy? Does growing biofuel compete with growing food? And, does…
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US-based Sandia National Laboratories is working with three industry partners to commercialise what it describes as a distributed power system that can produce cheaper, cleaner, more efficient electricity. The labs signed three-year cooperative research and development agreements with Peregrine Turbine Technologies of Wiscasset, Maine, Xdot Engineering Analysis of…
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The European Parliament has voted to restore the recycling targets for member states set out in the original incarnation of the Circular Economy Package tabled in 2014. The votes means by 2030, at least 70% by weight of so-called municipal waste (from households and businesses) should be recycled or prepared for reuse, (ie, checked, cleaned or repaired), say MEPs. The European Commission proposed…
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A team of researchers at the UK-based University of Cambridge has developed a way of using solar power to generate a fuel that is both sustainable and relatively cheap to produce. The team used natural light to generate hydrogen from biomass. In a statement, the researchers said:  “One of the challenges facing modern society is what it does with its waste products. As natural…
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The government of Canada is investing CAN$43 million (€27m) in the clean technology sector to help create jobs and stimulate growth in the environmental sector. Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Bains announced an investment of up to $20 million to support clean energy projects at the pre-commercialisation stage. This investment, part of a…
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Growing sustainable energy crops without increasing greenhouse gas emissions, may be possible on seasonally wet, environmentally-sensitive landscapes, according to US-based researchers who conducted a study on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land. Debasish Saha, postdoctoral in plant sciences, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences and colleagues, measured the amount of nitrous oxide, a…
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US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt has said that he does not believe carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to global warming. "I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the…
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Following the merger of UK waste management firm Shanks Group and Dutch waste services provider Van Gansewinkel, the company has announced it will rebrand as Renewi.  Following the completion of the merger with Van Gansewinkel Groep B.V, Shanks has announced that it will be re-launching the combined business under a new brand, which will include re-naming the company from Shanks Group plc to…
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There has been excessive use of land for bioenergy crops in Germany which has led to a loss of species, according to the German environment minister Barbara Hendricks. Hendricks, speaking to the magazine Mehrwert, included energy as part of general comments on how she planned to reverse some policy in a bid to assist nature conservation, Power Engineering International reported. With reference…
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Oil giant BP has announced that it will buy Clean Energy Fuels Corp.’s biomethane business for $155 million (€147m). Clean Energy Fuels is a US provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America.  In a statement, BP said that the deal enables both companies to accelerate the growth in renewable natural gas supply and meet the growing demand of the natural gas vehicle…
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A new way of drying wood chips for bioenergy has been developed by Finnish researchers. The artificial dryer, in the form of a shipping container, is developed by Finnish company SFTec  and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). The project highlights the complexities of drying technology. A wide range of artificial dryers on the market run into technical challenges especially when…
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The UK should vary the pace at which it reduces carbon emissions by 2050 in order to prioritise energy policies that “keep the lights on”, according to a House or Lords committee. The Economic Affairs Committee examined the impact of the policies of successive governments on the electricity market.  In its report, "The Price of Power: Reforming the Electricity Market", published…
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The development of large-scale energy projects, including the Site C hydroelectric dam, threatens to drive bioenergy and biofuel production away from British Columbia (B.C.), experts warn. Jack Saddler, a researcher at the University of B.C. and part of a project to convert forest residues to biojet fuel, told CBC News that big energy projects could drive out innovation in the industry. The Site…
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In a rare landmark case on the validity of patents covering biotech innovations, the Supreme People’s Court of China has decided in Novozymes’ favour in a trial against two competitors accused of infringing its enzyme patent. The patent dispute began in 2011, when Novozymes found evidence that Shandong Longda Bio-Products Co.and Jiangsu Boli Bioproducts Co., were producing and selling…
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