Other News

A £14m (€16.6m) anaerobic digestion (AD) plant, the largest in Wales, was officially opened by Bridgend AM Carwyn Jones on 2 December, 2016. Developed by Agrivert, the plant takes food waste from Welsh homes and businesses and converts it into renewable energy. Located at Parc Stormy near Bridgend, it is the company’s first foothold into Wales and is set to process around 48,000…
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A team of scientists at Bristol University have developed a technology that uses radioactive waste to create a nuclear powered battery encased in man-made diamond with a potential lifespan of thousands of years. The scientists behind the discovery say that it tackles the problems of nuclear decommissioning, clean electricity generation and battery life. The batteries could last 5,000 years,…
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Investors looking at residual waste treatment facilities should not be put off advanced conversion technologies (ACTs) by their checkered track record, according to specialist UK-based environmental consultancy Eunomia Research & Consulting. In a new report published on 30 November, 2016, Eunomia has analysed the prospects for ACTs, such as gasification and pyrolysis as treatments for…
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The Finnish Government has expressed its satisfaction with the sustainability criteria for the use of forest biomass in energy production in the European Commission's proposal for a new Renewable Energy Directive. The revised directive will create a solid foundation for increasing the use of renewable energy sources in Finland, said Olli Rehn, Minister of Economic Affairs. “What is crucial…
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The bioenergy industry has given a mixed response to the European Commission’s revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The revised RED, published yesterday (30th November), strengthens the existing EU criteria for bioenergy sustainability and extends them to cover also biomass and biogas for heat and power, according to the EC. Commenting on the sustainability criteria, Didzis Palejs,…
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NexSteppe, a US feedstock provider for the bio-based industries, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Longping High-Tech Arable Land Remediation Technology Company, a subsidiary of the leading Chinese seed company, Longping High-Tech. Under this agreement, Longping will provide distribution, marketing and sales for NexSteppe’s Palo Alto biomass sorghum hybrids in China…
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Hong Kong-based China Everbright International has announced that it has secured the entrusted operation rights of Wuxi Xidong household waste-to-energy project in Jiangsu Province, and will be responsible for managing and operating the venture.  The Xidong project is designed to process around 2,000 tonnes of household waste and is expected to generate more than 243,000,000 kWh of green…
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The European Commission has released its long-awaited revised Renewable Energy Directive (RED) and proposed the phase-out of food crop-based biofuels from 2021. The EC also wants to simultaneously introduce a sub-mandate for advanced biofuels. It also proposes to introduce a new sustainability criterion on forest biomass. It proposes an obligation on European transport fuel suppliers to provide…
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Green’s, a UK waste heat recovery specialist, has launched a boiler inspection service for bioenergy producers to identify current and potential problems with boilers and ancillary equipment so that they can be addressed before they become overly costly or result in avoidable outages. Neil Ford, Green’s service and repairs manager says: “The expertise our team has built up over…
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Sewage contains a source of energy that can be harvested by using hungry bacteria, according to new research from Belgium-based Ghent University. Domestic sewage contains various organic substances, mainly from toilets and kitchens. These are harmful to the environment, but also contain energy. Researchers from Ghent University have discovered how to efficiently extract this energy from…
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Specially protected forests are being indiscriminately felled across Europe to meet the EU’s renewable energy targets, according to an investigation by the conservation group Birdlife. According to reports in the Guardian, Birdlife found logging taking place in conservation zones such as Poloniny national park in eastern Slovakia and in Italian riverside forests around Emilia-Romagna,…
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EXCLUSIVE: The government of Finland has approved a new national Energy and Climate Strategy outlining how the country plans to reach both domestic and EU climate targets by 2030. In the outline, Finland’s centre-right government set a goal to have the share of renewables in the Finnish energy pool surpass 50% during the 2020s, with a long-term goal of reaching carbon neutrality. Subsidies…
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An Imperial College climate finance specialist has called on private investors to invest in proven green technologies. Speaking at the UN’s climate summit in Marrakech (COP22), Charles Donovan, director of Imperial's new Centre for Climate Finance & Investment, said: “There’s a huge difference between technologies that are merely possible and the ones that are…
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Canada is accelerating its plans to phase out coal-based energy generation by 2030 in a bid to meet the emissions reduction targets of the Paris Agreement. The Liberal government, chosen partly on a platform of doing more for the environment, says the coal-axing plan will take into account the conditions in each Canadian province, some of which have resisted the phase-out. According to the…
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