Other News

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,…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

The use of gas to cook and for heating will be phased out in the Netherlands under the government’s new energy strategy up to 2050. Instead homes and offices will be heated by surplus heat generated by industry and energy-from-waste plants as well as from geothermal sources. The Energieagenda policy document, published on 7 December, 2016, states that gas firms will no longer be required to…
Read More »

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) will use a by-product from its corn processing facility in Decatur, US, to produce a renewable natural gas, which will be distributed by Ameren Illinois into the nation’s natural gas infrastructure. “We’re proud to work with Ameren Illinois on this innovative project,” said Colin Graves, project manager for ADM. “Consumers and the…
Read More »

Green energy company Ecotricity has revealed it has submitted planning applications to build so-called Green Gas Mills at two proposed fracking sites in Lancashire, UK. The company has put in Green Gas Mill applications at two fracking sites in Lancashire: Preston New Road, rejected by Lancashire Council, but then approved by the government over the heads of local people; and Roseacre Wood, also…
Read More »

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,…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

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,…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

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…
Read More »

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…
Read More »