Other News

The UK’s largest renewable energy trade association, the Renewable Energy Association (REA), has urged the UK government to support the biomass heat industry. The trade body recently responded to a consultation on reforms to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) subsidy, which closed earlier this week. In a statement, the REA said that if changes to the RHI policy were made then “the…
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Energy giant Drax faced protests during its annual general meeting in London over its use of public subsidies to support its coal and wood-burning power station. Protesters came to the Drax power station site near Selby, North Yorkshire on 20 April, 2015. They also campaigned outside the company’s AGM in London on the same date, with banners stating ‘axe Drax’. Speaking…
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Finnish utility Fortum has called for a clear EU-level sustainability criteria for biomass and a transition to a market-driven system in place of complex subsidy systems. The state-run firm unveiled its views in its latest Energy Review series. Fortum said the uncertainty regarding biomass-related regulatory policy has increased in the EU, which adds instability to the biomass markets and…
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Blue Sphere Corp., a North Carolina-based independent power producer that develops, owns and manages energy-to-waste (EfW) facilities globally, announced it has signed an exclusive term sheet to acquire a 1MW waste-to-energy biogas plant from Agrilandia Societa Agricola in Tortona, Italy. As proposed in the term sheet,  US firm Blue Sphere shall acquire a 100% interest in the plant, the land…
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The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has delayed a decision whether to grant planning permission for an experimental plasma arc gasification facility in Nottinghamshire, UK, stating it was "not yet in a position to decide". The £70m (€88m) facility, proposed by Waste2Tricity and Peel Environmental, would also include a materials recovery facility and energy…
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More than three quarters of UK residents view biomethane in a positive light, a new study has found. The representative survey, conducted by market survey analysts Usurv on behalf of the UK’s Renewable Energy Association (REA), found that the 84% of people in the UK would like to switch to using green gas in their homes. The study was conducted in light of Biomethane Day 2016, which is…
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Air Products, a US-based chemicals and gas specialist, has announced plans to exit the energy-from-waste market (EfW) and scrap its renewable energy project based in Teeside, based in the north east of England. The firm said it will sell both Tees Valley 1 and 2 gasification plants. It is selling the plants due to technical problems and rising cost. The move means the US firm company would be…
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The European Commission (EC) is working on an energy-from-waste (EfW) communication that will address how the process can be optimised without compromising higher reuse and recycling rates, according to European Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella. Vella made the announcement while speaking at the Dutch Parliament on 4 April, 2016. He said that the European institution is aiming to adopt the…
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EXCLUSIVE: Unseasonably warm weather is affecting global demand for wood pellets, according to an industry expert. Speaking at the Argus Biomass 2016 conference held in London, Joao Rocha Paris, CEO of Portugal-based wood pellet firm Enerpar, said Europe was the main consumer of wood pellets in the world. However, he said due to three consecutive warm winters "we are facing a dramatic situation…
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Environment and sustainability professionals have high levels of work satisfaction because they find their jobs personally, professionally and financially rewarding, according to new research. Statistics released by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) show that 82% of its members are satisfied with their career – the highest figure ever recorded for this…
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US Democrat Senator Ron Wyden (Oregon), is calling for increased production of sustainable, low-carbon biomass energy to heat and power homes and businesses, according to media reports. According to Renewable Energy World, in recent letters to US Senate appropriators, Wyden highlighted the important role of biomass programs at the US Forest Service and the US Department of Energy in helping…
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Food businesses producing more than 50kg of food waste per week in Northern Ireland have to separate and recycle waste under a new law that came into effect on 1 April, 2016. Published guidance describe a “food business” as being “an undertaking, whether carried on for profit or not, and whether public or private, carrying out any activity related to the processing,…
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Nearly 569,000 people work in clean energy throughout the US Midwest, according to an analysis released by Chicago-based Clean Energy Trust (CET) and the business group Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Clean energy jobs throughout the region are expected to grow by more than 4% over the next year, with the possibility for even more growth with the right policies in place, the report says. The…
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The UK-based Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) has called for greater emphasis on progressing carbon capture and storage (CCS) and building a UK bioenergy sector in the next 15 years. ETI says increased attention in these areas is necessary if the UK is to meet its targets for decarbonising its energy system in the most cost effective way. The call was made by the organisation’s chief…
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