Other News

A new report pertaining to wood markets states many sawmills in northern Europe have expanded their lumber sales outside the Europe market the past few years. The resultant increase in non-European exports from Nordic countries went from 27% of total exports in 2007 to 43% in 2012. The biggest changes have come within shipments to Northern Africa, the Middle East, Japan, China and the US. Finnish…
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A loan agreement between the Republic of Belarus and the World Bank has been signed which will see $90 million (€69.5 million) additional financing for energy efficiency projects in the country. The extra financing will cover the reconstruction costs of two combined heat and power (CHP) plants in the cities of Gomel and Mogilev. Both CHP facilities are expected to add 145MW of electrical…
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Technip, a France-based project management and engineering company, has won a multi-million euro front end contract to build a second generation biomass-to-liquid (BtL) plant in Finland. The €5 million ($6.6 million) contract was awarded by Forest BtL and the facility will be built on Ajos island. It aims to produce approximately 140,000 tonnes of biodiesel and naphtha via wood and…
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Vermont Wood Pellet (VWP), a US-based pellet producer, has won a share of a $750,000 (€572,500) grant provided by the Working Lands Enterprise Fund. The company has said its $38,153 windfall will be spent on upgrading its equipment to increase production output and overall efficiency by reducing the amount of waste made during the process. Its facility turned out 15,500 tonnes of hardwood…
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Feedstock producer Viaspace has signed an agreement with Philippines-based sugar company Sagay Central (SC) to supply Giant King grass. SC manufactures and mills 150,000 tonnes of sugar a year, in raw, washed and Muscavado formats, for both domestic market and export use. The deal has been done to help diversify its renewable energy operations. ‘We are happy to be working on this important…
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It has been reported that two men passed away on 10 June while trying to rescue people caught in a gas leak at an under construction biomass power plant in Bangkok, Thailand. According to local news reports the two men, a New Zealand engineer and a local employee, tried to save a husband and wife who had passed out in a three-storey ventilation chimney after inhaling toxic gas. Unfortunately…
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Sweden-based forestry company RusForest is set to work with AS Hekotek, a mechanical engineering company, to build a wood pellet production facility at its sawmill in Arkhangelsk, Russia. The facility will have an annual capacity of 100,000 tonnes and allow RusForest to monetise its sawmill by-products by exporting wood pellets to Europe. Total investment is estimated to be approximately €10…
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The global trade of woodchips has grown year on year from 2000 to 2011, the Wood Resource Quarterly reports. This is with the exception of 2009 when pulp production fell around 10% and the demand for wood fibre was down. From 2009-2012 woodchip imports reached just over 31 million tonnes, a 6.5 million increase. According to the report, much of this can be attributed to major investments in pulp…
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The Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is working to demonstrate that jet fuel can be manufactured economically and in large volumes from biomass materials such as switchgrass and has partnered with Cobalt Technology, the US Navy and Show Me Energy for the project. The results of these tests will help decipher whether the process can be ramped up for commercial…
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Forest BtL Oy is developing a new biomass-to-liquid (BtL) plant on Ajos Island, Finland. The facility will utilise wood and by-products from the wood processing industry to produce approximately 140,000 tonnes of biodiesel and naphtha. The project is supported by the European Union NER300 funding programme for innovative renewable energy technologies. The front-end engineering and design (FEED)…
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Developer Klamath Falls Bioenergy has withdrawn its application to build a biomass-fired power plant near Klamath Falls, Oregon, Associated Press reports. The company said it would not have been able to meet its construction deadline of the end of 2013 due to delays in obtaining a state siting permit. This deadline was set by federal economic stimulus legislation, which was expected to fund 30%…
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Construction has begun on a biomass project in Maine, US. The plant will benefit two schools in the St. John Valley: the University of Maine and Fort Kent Community High School. The biomass heating system will help both educational institutions reduce their carbon footprint while also slashing energy costs; it is expected to save more than $4 million (€2.9 million) over the next 10…
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Accra in Ghana is to start generating power of lighting systems via biogas according to local news reports. The project is set to use treated human waste at the Tipping Station Worte ground via a $5 million (€3.8 million) waste treatment plant from Scamson Ghana. ‘This project can also commercialise the products of faecal sludge, including pumping back recycled treated water for…
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Moose Creek Energy's landfill gas-to-energy plant was officially opened on 7 June by energy minister Bob Chiarelli. The 4.2MW plant is located in Moose Creek, Ontario at the Lafleche Environmental facility. Moose Creek Energy is a joint venture between Energy Ottawa, a subsidiary of Hydro Ottawa, and Integrated Gas Recovery Services. The facility at Moose Creek will generate enough electricity to…
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