Other News

Shipping company Dampskibsselskabet Norden has announced a nine-year contract to transport pellets for Canada-based Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. Under the contract, starting in 2018 NORDEN will transport 3.5 million metric tons of wood pellets from Vancouver and Prince Rupert in western Canada to Europe. According to Norden, it will make eight shipments per year for Pinnacle using Supramax…
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The World Bioenergy Association (WBA) has criticised the European Commission’s revised Renewable Energy Directive. The document was published on 30 November, 2016. In a statement, the WBA said: “The package contains many well designed proposals but fails to comply with the challenges set by the Paris Agreement. A reduction of the CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030 as compared to 1990 is by…
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Irish agri-tech business BHSL has agreed to sell eight of its manure-to-energy units to UK-based poultry farms. In a statement, the company said that the move has generated €13 million in sales. The firm manufactures manure-to-energy technology which is aimed at transforming the environmental impact of the global poultry industry. The eight new BHSL Energy Centre units will all be installed…
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Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Vinod Khosla, Jack Ma, John Doerr and 15 other high-profile investors have formed a new venture firm, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, that will pour at least $1 billion (€943,000,00m) into cleantech companies over the next 20 years. The firm’s goal, according to its own website will be: “to provide everyone in the world with access to reliable,…
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Denmark’s largest power station Avedøre is now producing energy from wood pellets instead of coal. This is a major step towards Copenhagen's goal of being CO2-neutral by 2025. For the past 18 months, Avedøre Power Station has been converting its coal-fired power station unit, and the entire CHP plant is now able to produce electricity and heat based on wood pellets and straw,…
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Officials in the US state of Maine have approved a $13 million (€12m) taxpayer subsidy to reopen or keep open several biomass electricity generation plants in the state. According to Maine Public.com, earlier this year, lawmakers approved a plan to use surplus state revenues to prop up the biomass industry, and the forest-products workers who depend on it, by supplementing the prices the…
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The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has published its response to its consultation on the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) today (14 December, 2016). For biogas and biomethane, the reforms will vastly improve the carbon cost-effectiveness of further support, BEIS said in its statement response. New plants will be required to produce at least half their biogas and…
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As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut carbon pollution and create clean energy jobs, US Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has announced new steps with Western states to encourage the development of renewable power, efficiently deliver that electricity to market, and meet growing consumer demands for clean energy.  Under a Memorandum of Understanding…
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UPM, a Finnish bio- and forestry company, is researching the recycling of green liquor dregs with the aim to reach a zero solid waste to landfill operational status by 2030. Green liquor dregs – the moist “black ashes” created in the soda recovery boiler while burning dissolved wood material – are one of the most challenging production sidestreams to recycle. The…
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China Everbright International has signed a strategic investment and cooperation agreement with the People's Government of Lankao County in Henan Province to push renewable energy and environmental policies. The agreement seeks to develop cooperation in the fields of environmental water, alternative energy, and environmentally friendly new materials, and promote all-round cooperation in…
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UK engineering group Doosan Babcock has announced plans to cut 470 UK jobs, the majority of which will be in Scotland. The company confirmed that 270 jobs were at risk at the company's base in Renfrewshire, Scotland, where 800 staff are currently employed. They include 140 posts at its machining and assembly facility in Renfrew, along with 130 management and back-office support roles. Doosan,…
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Power giant Drax is set to buy energy supplier Opus Energy for £340m (€399m) as part of a strategy overhaul. Drax Group, which runs the UK's largest power station in Selby, said the acquisition will create Britain's fifth biggest non-domestic energy retailer. The company, which also announced the purchase of four gas turbine projects for £18.5m, is looking to move away from its…
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There is strong public support for producing bioenergy in the UK from both biomass and waste, according to a new survey carried out for the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). The YouGov survey, commissioned by the ETI, questioned over 5,300 adults to gauge public perceptions of bioenergy in the UK, and found that 74% of people surveyed support producing…
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US President-elect Donald Trump has selected Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma attorney general, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as its administrator. Pruitt has served as attorney general since 2010, prior to which he had an eight-year tenure in the Oklahoma state senate. He said that he intends to protect the environment, but at the same time safeguard businesses from…
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