View Issue Contents

← Go Back

Issue cover
Date Published:
20 January 2014

Volume 5, Issue 1


Towards international pellet standards

Feature
An overview of new international pellet standards due to be introduced this year   The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) is currently preparing almost 60 standards for solid biofuels which will supersede EN standards in Europe following the application of Vienna agreement. Due to be published in March 2014 as ISO EN standards, values for these standards have been agreed... [read more]

Eggborough: the future's not bright

Feature
Is closure on the cards for another UK power station?   The Eggborough coal power station is a 2,000MW facility located in North Yorkshire, UK. It, like a number of power stations in the country, was to be retrofitted to fire biomass to meet EU air quality legislation. Other power stations, such as Ferrybridge, Ironbridge and Tilbury, are to close by the end of 2015. This £750 million... [read more]

Biomethane: a tradable reality

Feature
Find out about the development of the Biomethane Certification Scheme   The road to getting biomethane into the gas grid has been a long one, seemingly strewn with rocks and speed bumps. But, finally, meaningful quantities of gas are flowing to the grid. The anaerobic digestion (AD) industry’s challenge has, in many ways, always been one of scale: how to gain cost-effective access to a... [read more]

Outlook 2014: A global gathering

Feature
Bioenergy Insight kicks off the New Year with comments from renewable energy producers around the world on what the next 12 months may have in store

The more the merrier

Feature
It has three biogas plants coming online this year, but NPG Energy is not stopping there   By 2020 Belgium aims for 13% of its total energy consumption to come from renewables. This figure stood at 3% in 2008 and today is approximately 5%, so the country still has a long way to go to hit this goal. More future targets could also be on the cards for Belgium, among other European countries,... [read more]

Highs and lows

Feature
While Germany’s biogas market is floundering, other European nations are finally finding their feet   ‘The electricity produced in Europe today from biogas could replace seven nuclear reactors in Belgium or produce nearly as much power as coal power plants in the Czech Republic.’ These impressive figures were revealed by Jan Stambasky, the president of the European Biogas... [read more]

Advancing exportation

Feature
Paul Scott Abbott finds out how ports across North America are gearing up to handle increased volumes of wood pellets destined for Europe’s utility companies   North American ports are continuing to gear up to meet Europe’s growing demand for wood pellets. Plans are moving forward for several new export facilities in the US Southeast, as are developments for shipping methods that... [read more]

Looking to the future

Feature
Bouwe van den Oever talks about the Port of Amsterdam’s expanding renewable energy cluster   The Port of Amsterdam is a key player with regards to dry bulk materials such as coal and agribulk. During the past few years it has grown to become one of the world’s leading ports for coal and today is the second largest coal transshipment port in Europe. Dry bulk throughput counts for... [read more]

A cautionary tale

Feature
A lack of governmental support for biomass means utilities are wary about investing in large projects at the Port of Rotterdam   The demand for biomass in northwest Europe today stands at around 45 million tonnes. In this region, domestic supply cannot cope with the increase in demand and wood pellet imports, which already amount to more than 4 million tonnes, will continue grow in the... [read more]

Becoming a biomass hub

Feature
How is the Port of Antwerp equipped to handle growing shipments of biomass?   Europe’s 20/20/20 energy objective states member countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 20% when compared to 1990 levels, increase their energy efficiency to 20% and generate 20% of all energy sustainably by the year 2020. The first and latter of these objectives can be achieved by increasing... [read more]

Biomass handling at ports and terminals

Feature
With wood pellet imports to Europe on the rise, what factors must be taken into consideration when it comes to biomass handling?   Biomass is one of the fastest growing bulk shipping sectors, comprising mainly wood pellets for use in European power stations. These pellets are either co-fired with coal in existing facilities or fed into new stations. In the UK, for example, half of the Drax... [read more]

Good vibrations

Feature
One bulk reclaiming system was the preferred choice for Immingham Renewable Fuels Terminals   The strategically placed coastal ports have, for many years, played a key role in both the export and import of huge volumes of fossil fuels used to keep the lights switched on and the wheels of commerce turning across Europe. Millions of tonnes of fossil fuels — specifically coal —... [read more]

AD adds up

Feature
How building an AD plant has helped one business save money and expand operations   High energy prices in the region of £250,000 (€300,500) a year meant that, for Cannington Enterprises — a family owned company located at Swang Farm in Somerset, UK — addressing electricity bills became a priority. In 2008 the company received planning permission to build an anaerobic... [read more]

Managing a digestate lagoon

Feature
With a plan to minimise smells coming from its biofertiliser, one UK farm set about finding the most suitable odour control system   For six days a week, up to 168 tonnes of digestate from the ReFood-owned anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Doncaster, UK is discharged into a storage lagoon on Horncastle Farm. The PAS110 accredited biofertiliser is then used by Metcalfe Farming over 1,000... [read more]

Second chances

Feature
The Black River retrofit project, completed last year, allowed for a change to the fuel mix at an idled coal burning facility   The ReEnergy Black River facility, a wholly owned subsidiary of ReEnergy Holdings, has 60MW of generation capacity. Before it was idled in early 2010 by its former owner, the facility, located at the US Army’s Fort Drum installation in New York, primarily... [read more]

Funding a bioenergy project

Feature
What risks must renewable energy project developers mitigate before potential investors put their money where their mouth is?   Bioenergy projects, like many renewable projects, can face significant hurdles in obtaining financing in the current market. Structuring a development to minimise risks is the art of project finance, a form of funding with equity and non-recourse debt. The... [read more]

Making bioenergy businesses work

Feature
Peter Harding from Alpha Financials Environmental reveals what financial options are available for anaerobic digestion projects   Despite the well publicised problems of raising finance since the onset of the 2007 recession, funding in the UK is becoming easier and can provide rates of return attractive to both project developers and financiers, due in large part to considerable tax... [read more]

Waste not, want not

Feature
A palm oil producer in Colombia is generating renewables and changing lives for the better   The story of the Daabon Group is one filled with superlatives. The company, a diversified producer of a number of products, is the largest employer in northern Colombia, with over 3,000 employees. It was the first producer in the world to market sustainable palm oil and it is behind the largest... [read more]

Making waves

Feature
What are the advantages of using MSW as a feedstock for ethanol production?   The first wave of commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants has arrived. The first facilities finally began production in 2013, and 2014 is targeted as another successful year for the industry. Commercialisation of the cellulosic biofuels sector is creating jobs, driving innovation and tapping into the... [read more]