Policy News

Drax's feedstock from US wood pellet facilities have broken environmental regulations over 11,000 times, according to an investigation for The Times. It found that violations took place at six Drax Group-owned mills, from whence wood pellets are shipped to its North Yorkshire power station. They were located across Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Washington. Offences included surpassing…
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Following the publication of the first Labour Government's budget on 30 October, Chris Huhne, chair of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) and former Energy and Climate Change Secretary, said: “Every business will have its own take on the mix of tax rises, but the continued emphasis on green growth is welcome. It would have been even better if there had been no mixed…
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Veteran policy experts shared their predictions for the 2025 biogas policy landscape at the American Biogas Council’s (ABC) BUSINESS OF BIOGAS conference, an annual education and networking event held October 22-24, 2024 in St. Louis, Mo. Led by the ABC’s vice president of policy, Heather Dziedzic, Chris Hessler, founding partner at AJW, Inc. and Anthony Reed, partner at FGS Global, the…
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Clean Energy Technologies has announced that Vermont Renewable Gas (VRG), an affiliate limited liability company has been selected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as one of its Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Grant recipients. Administered by the USDA’s Rural Development Office, this current $1.05 billion initiative funded through the Inflation Reduction Act seeks…
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The European Commission has concluded that two Swedish tax exemption schemes for non-food-based biogas and bio-propane used for heating or as motor fuel are in line with EU State aid rules. In June 2020, the Commission had approved the schemes under EU State aid rules, but the Commission's decisions were annulled by the General Court on 21 December 2022. The Commission's investigation On 29…
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Last week, Claire Coutinho, UK shadow net zero secretary, backtracked on the former Conservative government's previous approval of Drax fittings its Selby biomass facility with Beccs (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) technology. She claimed the case for the scheme 'simply unravelled' on closer inspection. She said: “We cannot go green by burning trees at huge cost to the public. If…
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The UK Conservative Party is now opposing Drax's plans to fit its Selby biomass station with Beccs (bioenergy with carbon capture and storage) technology, reported The Times. Although the Conservatives had previously approved the proposals, Claire Coutinho, shadow net zero secretary, said the case for the scheme 'simply unravelled' on closer inspection. She said: “We cannot go green by…
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Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has granted a total of €44,546,484 in investment aid to 12 projects under the national Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP). Moreover, by a decision supported by the Ministerial Finance Committee on 3 October, €28,048,200 was granted to Nordic Ren-Gas Oy for a large demonstration project on new energy technology. "It is great that clean…
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A new report has expressed concerns about the safety of Southeast Asia's tropical forests, following the rise of the wood-to-energy sector. The report, which is called 'Unheeded Warnings: Forest Biomass Threats to Tropical Forests in Indonesia and Southeast Asia', looks at how energy policies in Indonesia, Japan and South Korea push what it calls a 'false climate solution'. The document is…
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Renewable energy company Evero has announced its two CCS projects have both passed the 'deliverability assessment' in the UK Government’s Hynet Track 1 expansion process. This lays the foundation for the delivery of two large-volume Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR) facilities operational by 2030. The news follows the government giving the go ahead for a £22bn investment into CCS, including the…
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The Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA) and Wood Fuel Quality Assurance (WFQA) members have welcomed the recognition in today’s annual EPA Air Quality in Ireland 2023 report, for the need to “target air enforcement activities, including to ensure compliance with the solid fuel regulations.” Seán Finan, IrBEA CEO said: “Since the inception of the WFQA scheme in 2009, wood fuel supplier…
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The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) has announced up to $15 million in federal funding to make clean hydrogen a more available and affordable fuel for electricity generation, industrial decarbonization, and transportation. Specifically, the funding opportunity will support research and development projects that convert feedstocks — such…
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Gevo, Inc. has announced the sale of approximately $20 million in Investment Tax Credits to an undisclosed corporate buyer. This transaction monetises Inflation Reduction Act Investment Tax Credits generated from the commercialisation of a renewable natural gas (RNG) production facility by Gevo NW Iowa RNG, and provides net cash proceeds of approximately $17 million to Gevo after transaction…
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Brazil's Senate is set to vote on a bill requiring thermoelectric plants to use biomethane as part of their fuel mix commencing 2026, according to a report by Senator Veneziano Vital do Rêgo. According to Estadão, the bill's inclusion of flexible thermoelectric plants, which are activated during water crises, follows negotiations in the country's Senate Infrastructure Committee. The bill's…
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