Other News

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has formed a new partnership to increase the use of wood for energy purposes while helping to improve the health and safety of the nation's forests. Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack said the new partnership includes the USDA, the Alliance for Green Heat, the Biomass Power Association, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council and the Pellet Fuels Institute. The…
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Flagship VentureLabs has announced Midori Renewables is to deploy a new catalyst technology which melts non-food biomass into low-cost sugar. The technology, branded Breaking the Biomass Barrier, is a solid material, not an enzyme, micro-organism or aqueous acid, that can be separated from the reaction and reused for the production of renewable products and animal feed. ‘We evaluated…
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Cleantech company Blue Sphere has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a landfill gas-to-energy project at the Akouedo Landfill in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Under the agreement, Blue Sphere will own the gas and energy produced in exchange for financing the cost of the project and sharing a portion of the profits with its partner in Ivory Coast. The Akouedo Landfill receives up to 4,000…
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With the vote on whether to cap first generation biofuel in transport fuel at 5.5% is due around the start of Biofuels International conference the timing couldn't be better. This is your last chance to register and hear from top biofuel producers, regulators and experts for only €300 a day (when two delegates attend) Topics covered will include whether a 5.5% cap is the best way…
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Universal Adsorbents and Chemicals (UAC) has formed a joint venture with Italy-based biogas company Sebigas to design and build biogas pants in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. The subsidiary company – UAC Energy – will oversee the design and construction of biogas facilities in addition to providing operation and maintenance services. UAC expects the new JV subsidiary to…
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Aemetis, an advanced fuels and renewable chemicals company, has been granted US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approval to produce ethanol using grain sorghum and biogas. The move means the plant’s existing combined heat and power system can generate higher-value D5 advanced biofuels renewable identification numbers (RINs). The EPA approval also includes D5 RIN generation for…
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A multi-university study into biomass-to-energy has claimed to have found a new lignin gene which could aid conversion. A research project involving universities in Scotland, the US and Belgium used the model plant Arabidopsis thanliana and identified an enzyme called caffeoyl shikimate esterase (CSE), which fulfils a central role in lignin biosynthesis. The research says by removing the CSE gene…
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EDF Renewable Energy has closed a Membership Interest Purchase Agreement for the acquisition of Heartland Renewable Energy's biogas plant. The project, which features a 20MW anaerobic digester and renewable natural gas (RNG) facility, is already under construction with biogas deliveries to begin by the second quarter of next year. The plant, located in LaSalle, Colorado, will handle organic…
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Commissioning has begun at the 75MW Burgess BioPower plant in Berlin, New Hampshire and on 28 August the facility received its first delivery of woodchips. The power plant cost $273 million (€205 million) to build. It is located on the site of the Burgess Pulp Mill and has been designed to consume 750,000 tonnes of wood biomass annually – around 100 truckloads of woodchips a day. The…
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In Limburg, Belgium NPG Energy, an investor and project development company, is developing a 2.4MW biogas plant, expected to be operational by the second quarter of 2014. This renewable electricity has the potential to benefit around 5,000 homes but instead will be consumed by the Spin-group BV in its textile factory. Initially, the plant will use maize silage to generate power but this will…
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Unilever, together with the University of Liverpool, has established a research project to develop biomass-based chemicals that can be used in the manufacture of its home and personal care products. The three-year project will see the development of renewable chemicals from surplus sugars, fats, oils and carbohydrates produced via commodity by-products and forestry wastes. The aim is to identify…
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The biomass to power sector is expected to grow substantially in the future and worldwide revenue from biomass power generation could reach $11.5 billion (€8.7 million) a year by 2020. This is according to a recent report from Navigant Research. This growth is being attributed to 'technological breakthroughs and the expansion of international trade in biomass pellets', which are expected to…
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Eagle Valley Eco Fuels, a manufacturer of biomass fuel, has earned the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) 'certified bio-based product' label for its Brickenmore biomass fuel brick and fire starters. The USDA certified label verifies that the bio-based materials used in a product meet or exceed prescribed USDA standards. 'The label will assure our customers that Brickenmore biomass fuel bricks…
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Biomasse Italia, one of Europe's largest virgin biomass energy producers, has awarded a new supply contract with Active Energy Group (AEG), the pan-European supplier of woodchips for biomass power generation. Biomasse Italia generates a total 500GWh of renewable energy through its two power stations in Crotone and Strongoli, which use approximately 700,000 tonnes of biomass a year. The company…
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