Drax Group has started construction on the second of three satellite wood pellet plants in Arkansas. Work is underway at the site in Russellville, Pope County, north-western Arkansas, with commercial operations expected to begin at the plant in 2022. The move is part of a $40 million (€34 million) investment by Drax in the state, creating around 30 new direct jobs... [Read More]

Network Rail has completed work on a £2.1 million (€2.46 million) project to repair and strengthen a bridge used by Drax Group. Aire Bridge in North Yorkshire is used by 100 freight services transporting materials to and from Drax Power Station on average each week. Over the 10-day blockade, Network Rail staff removed more than 100 metres of track so that a new... [Read More]

The foundation stone of Metsä Fibre’s Kemi bioproduct mill was laid on 13 September, with the company confirming the project is progressing according to plan. Totalling €1.6 billion, the investment in the Kemi bioproduct mill is the largest in the history of Finland’s forest industry. Operating entirely without fossil fuels, the mill will produce around 1.5 million... [Read More]

B2B renewable energy supplier Haven Power, part of Drax Group, is changing its name to Drax. Haven Power was acquired by Drax Group in 2009 and supplies more than 20,000 large industrial and commercial customers with over 12 TWh of renewable-sourced electricity annually – equivalent to the annual power use of more than 3 million homes. With the rebrand, Drax aims... [Read More]

Drax is calling for UK businesses of all sizes to join the UK’s first bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) supplier engagement programme. The company will host a series of nationwide events throughout 2022 in partnership with the West & North Yorkshire and Hull & Chambers of Commerce, as well as further events across the wider North, Midlands,... [Read More]

Several people have been injured in an explosion at Hazlehurst Wood Pellets in Georgia, US. Four employees were sent to hospital, with two having to be airlifted. One of the victims drove to the hospital by private car with a hand injury, WTOC, a Georgia-based news channel, reported. The fire started at approximately 4.30pm. At the time of the incident on 3 September,... [Read More]

Equis Development Pte (Equis), a major renewable energy and waste infrastructure developer in Asia-Pacific, has secured $282 million (€239 million) to build a biomass plant in Japan. Equis will build the 50 MW Niigata East Port Biomass Power Plant in Niigata, a port city on Honshu, Japan’s main island. The financing was committed by 14 syndication banks and insurance... [Read More]

Twenty four biomass projects have received a share of £4 million (€4.6 million) in UK Government funding. Farming seaweed, growing algae and the by-products of whisky manufacturing feature among the 24 projects, which range from start-ups and family-run businesses to research institutes and universities. Each project will receive up to £200,000 (€233,000) from... [Read More]

The Port of Tyne, UK, has discharged its largest ever wood pellet shipment - 62,522 tonnes - destined for Drax Power Station, North Yorkshire. The consignment of sustainable biomass pellets provides Drax with enough fuel to generate reliable, flexible renewable electricity for around 1.3 million homes. The vessel carrying the shipment, the 299-metre-long Ultra Lynx,... [Read More]

Canfor Corporation’s sale and transfer of forest tenure to Peak Renewables to build a new wood pellet plant has been approved by the Government of British Columbia (BC). Forest tenure includes the ownership, tenancy and other arrangements for the use of forests. Peak Renewables announced plans last year to buy Canfor’s tenure for $30 million (€20 million),... [Read More]

Wood pellet production in the Czech Republic is increasing every year, with domestic and foreign demand growing. Česká Peleta (the Czech Pellet Cluster) is a national association for all those dealing with wood fuels, such as pellets or briquettes, or boilers and stoves. The organisation said in the first half of 2021, a total of 254,000 tons of biomass fuel was produced.... [Read More]

Work is underway at Drax Power Station to upgrade one of its turbines to help drive down the cost of biomass power generation. Over the next four months, more than 1,000 contractors will work ‘around the clock’ to boost the performance of one of the station’s four biomass units and improve its efficiency. The work will include installing a new high-pressure... [Read More]

Apollo Global Management, together with its consolidated subsidiaries (Apollo), will acquire a majority stake in pellet producer AS Graanul Invest. With funds managed by Apollo’s affiliates, the company has agreed to invest in the largest producer of sustainable wood pellets in Europe, and one of the largest producers globally. Since its inception in 2003, Graanul... [Read More]

Enviva has reported strong quarterly results and shared an update on its plant expansion projects in the US South. The company reported a net revenue of $285 million (€239 million) in Q2 2021, a 70% increase compared to the same period in 2020. With the commissioning and expansion of pellet facilities in the US underway, Enviva’s chairman and CEO, John Keppler,... [Read More]

Drax Group has cut the carbon emissions from its power generation by over 90% in less than a decade, the company reported in its half-year results. With this reduction, Drax has become one of Europe’s lowest-carbon intensity power generators, moving it closer to achieving its ambition to be carbon negative by 2030. Formerly the largest coal power station in Western... [Read More]

Following the opening of Fonterra’s wood pellet boiler at its Te Awamutu site, the dairy cooperative revealed plans to convert another of its sites from coal to biomass. Fonterra, a multinational dairy cooperative based in New Zealand, officially opened Te Awamutu’s pellet boiler facility with the Minister for Energy and Resources, Dr Megan Woods. At the same time,... [Read More]