Policy News

The Government of Canada is investing nearly CAD 4.8 million (approximately €3.3 million) in Indigenous-led economic development and clean energy projects across Northern Ontario, with a strong emphasis on community-based biomass and renewable energy initiatives. The funding was announced by Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic…
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The UK government has announced plans to extend the Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) by two years until 31 March 2030, in what the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) has described as a significant vote of confidence in the biomethane industry. Lord Alan Whitehead, Minister of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), delivered the news whilst…
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The Ontario government is investing $2.25 million through the Forest Biomass Programme to help CHAR Technologies commercialise biocoal, a rapidly emerging low-carbon fuel derived from forest mill by-products and underutilised wood. This work will develop a new supply chain for made-in-Ontario forest products, create new revenue streams to drive growth in forestry and empower heavy industries to…
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Plans for a new anaerobic digestion plant in Lincolnshire have received approval from the local council. Future Biogas submitted an application to East Lindsey District Council to construct the facility on land west of the B1202 near Wragby. The project also includes an office building, access roads, and related infrastructure. The council’s planning committee approved the proposal on…
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The UK government has opened a wide-ranging consultation on plans to establish a common sustainability framework for biomass, aiming to strengthen oversight, improve public confidence and ensure the sector continues to support the country’s transition to net zero. Published on 2 December, the consultation seeks views on proposals to align and tighten existing sustainability rules that govern…
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The UK’s plans to use large-scale carbon-removal technologies in the 2030s could expose the public purse to billions of pounds in costs while delivering uncertain climate benefits, new analysis suggests. Carbon removals - including bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) and direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS) - form a key part of the government’s strategy for reaching…
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Serbia has significant potential to rapidly expand its biomethane sector, helping to reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports while strengthening energy security through renewable sources, according to a new study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The Study on Biomethane Production Potential in Serbia was conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Mining and Energy and the…
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The Latvian Cabinet of Ministers has approved a new package of amendments aimed at boosting domestic biomethane production and strengthening the country’s energy independence. The support programme, developed by the Ministry of Climate and Energy (KEM), will be open to both new and existing companies registered in Latvia that operate in biomethane production or in the development of transport…
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Drax Group has signed a new 'low-carbon dispatchable' contract for difference (CfD) with the UK government’s Low Carbon Contracts Company, covering all four of its biomass units at Drax Power Station from April 2027 to March 2031. The agreement, largely unchanged from terms announced in February, sets a strike price of £109.90 per MWh (2012, real) and includes a generation 'collar' of 6 TWh…
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The Scottish Government has upheld a decision to block plans for a biomass facility near Elgin, rejecting an appeal from Acorn Bioenergy. The Oxford- and London-based company had proposed constructing a plant at Longmorn to convert distillery waste into biomethane, which could be used as a renewable fuel. Acorn Bioenergy argued that the project could save approximately 27,000 tonnes of…
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The Wood Recyclers’ Association (WRA) has welcomed the findings of an independent government-commissioned review into Greenhouse Gas Removals (GGR), published on 23 October, which recommends extending support for waste wood-powered biomass plants capable of delivering GGRs. The review, led by former minister Dr Alan Whitehead CBE, examined how technologies such as large-scale bioenergy with…
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The Drax biomass facility in Gloster, Mississippi in the US, will face a new public hearing this week as state regulators reconsider whether to approve the company’s request to increase emissions limits at the plant. The hearing, scheduled for 14 October, comes after the Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board denied Drax’s initial application in April, which sought to reclassify…
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Bioenergy associations in Germany have called for urgent policy changes to ensure the sector plays a stronger role in the country’s transition to a secure, low-carbon energy system. Speaking at a stakeholder meeting in Berlin ahead of the forthcoming Energy Ministers’ Conference, Sandra Rostek, head of the Hauptstadtbüro Bioenergie (Bioenergy Capital Office), said both the power and…
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The European Commission has approved a €7.9 billion budget increase to Germany’s State aid scheme for electricity production from biomass and biogas, under EU State aid rules. The scheme, first approved in December 2022, is designed to support renewable energy production and encourage greater flexibility in the German power market. The amendment will expand the tender volume and introduce a…
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