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Date Published:
18 March 2013

Volume 4, Issue 2


Polish biomass market changes

Feature
Mark Döing, owner of independent energy technology consultancy Ecoprog, looks at how a new renewable energy law will affect Poland   Poland plans to introduce a new law on renewable energies as coincinerating biomass in coal power plants is currently dominating throughout the country. But, in the future, the support of smaller monoincinerators and the use of CHP technology should be... [read more]

UK biofuels industry responds to ILUC proposals

Feature
REA and EREC warn that shifting policy goalposts could prevent UK and EU realising economic benefits of 2020 renewable energy targets   UK energy secretary Ed Davey told the European Energy Council at the end of February that a one size fits all approach to the issue of indirect land use change (ILUC) for biofuels is ‘not helpful’. The overall cap on the use of crop-based... [read more]

Barking up the right tree

Feature
It could be a case of ‘Oh what a beautiful morning!’ for US renewable energy production from woody biomass if pending legislations are approved in two states   First up pending legislation is the Oklahoma Woody Biomass Energy Initiative Act of 2013, introduced by state representative Richard Morrissette just after the turn of the year to impress on a state plan for the... [read more]

Cheap gas = less biogas

Feature
The shale gas drilling boom is having an unfortunate side effect of stagnating the biopower industry. For the short term, at least, potential producers need to perfect the right combination of location, biomass supply and legislative support in order to prove a success   Berlin, New Hampshire (population 9,945) proudly bills itself as ‘the town trees built’. For more than one... [read more]

Of benefit to everyone

Feature
Jonathan Kahn, CEO of Geneva Wood Fuels, outlines his ideas for pellet use within the US, following a comeback from adversity   Geneva Wood Fuels (GWF), based in the wood industrydominated US state of Maine, has risen like the proverbial phoenix to become a fixture pellet supplier in the north east of the country. A fire caused by a faulty dryer in the summer of 2009 threatened to derail the... [read more]

Making money less of an object

Feature
With so many other things, money is one of the biggest stumbling blocks within biomass projects. The UK’s largest asset finance provider Lombard offers its advice on overcoming this all important hurdle   ‘As with any financial application, timely preparation is key,’ explains Hiten Sonpal, relationship director for Lombard1. ‘It’s important to have a clear idea... [read more]

Behind the torrefaction curtain

Feature
Thomas Causer, president of Terra Green Energy, looks at the potential role of torrefied biomass in renewable energy and fuel industries   Torrefaction is a mild pyrolysis or ‘roasting’ process which involves the thermal conversion of wet, green biomass into a consistent quality, extremely dry, hydrophobic and easily grindable product which can be efficiently utilised in both... [read more]

Planting the chain

Feature
US biopower firms are convincing farmers to expand acreage of miscanthus, switchgrass and other dedicated energy crops on marginal lands, but an absence of federal funding could put all the progress at risk   It is a complex equation of economics, behaviour, timing and risk management to create an industry for dedicated energy crops. ‘For one, nobody builds an oil refinery without... [read more]

Unravelling the miscanthus mystery

Feature
Repreve Renewables’ Jay Brinson talks about the future of miscanthus as a viable renewable feedstock   Miscanthus grass is helping North Carolina renewable energy company Repreve Renewables (RR) create a double-pronged renewable energy solution for its local communities, which could also potentially extend across international waters in the future. The company is a commercial grower of... [read more]

to energy producers Increasing the options

Feature
When Michael Jackson sang ‘It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white’ it was unlikely he had the wood pellet industry in mind. However, with two new facilities up and running, technology supplier Andritz hopes torrefaction will give more choices to energy producers   ‘When you drive moisture and hemicellulose out of wood biomass without burning it, you create a... [read more]

Living up to expectations?

Feature
Amy McLellan asks whether the world’s first Green Investment Bank is delivering on its promises   It has been three years in the making against a backdrop of gloomy economic forecasts, Whitehall squabbles and industry sniping, but the Green Investment Bank, the world’s first investment bank dedicated to greening the economy, has now clocked its first transactions. Three years ago... [read more]

AD: still an underdeveloped market

Feature
The boom in North American biogas is expected to accelerate in the coming years, buoyed by a renewed commitment to green energy by the second term US administration and the growing number of anaerobic digestion (AD) initiatives at state level. North of the border, Canada is making significant advances in bioenergy. Although the US bioenergy mindset still has some way to go before it can match... [read more]

Digesting the options

Feature
Charlotte Morton, CEO for the UK’s ADBA looks at the advantages of bioenergy produced from anaerobic digestion over that generated through biomass   The Committee on Climate Change has said that 10% of the UK’s energy requirement must be met with bioenergy if the UK is to meet its 2050 emissions targets, as well as its other benefits to the UK’s energy security, technology... [read more]

Banking on biomass advancement

Feature
Andrew Johnson, the VP of industrial equipment supplier for the forestry industry TSI, discusses the future of the torrefaction sector in North America   The torrefaction business in North America has primarily been focused on developing plants that will make torrefied wood pellets (TWPs) for shipment to Europe as a renewable fuel by European power utilities. The technology is available, the... [read more]

Biomass: a tale of three parts

Feature
Technologies developed to split wood into its constituent parts are helping to unlock new markets for lignocellulosic biomass   Except for non-vascular plants like mosses, all plants are made of three distinctive and potentially useful compounds; cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Unfortunately these compounds form a tangled lattice of fibres, making it difficult to extract each compound... [read more]

ensure its products contain 6% moisture Keeping pellets on spec

Feature
A US wood pellet manufacturer uses a compact halogen lab moisture analyser to ensure its products contain 6% moisture   Moisture content is an important quality control criterion for finished wood pellets. A US domestic standard is ASTM (formerly American Society for Testing and Materials) E-871, which has been adopted by the Pellet Fuel Institute. It specifies premium pellet moisture... [read more]

changing its mixing technology Mixing it up

Feature
One German biogas plant has realised a 75% reduction in energy costs just by changing its mixing technology   Forchheim in the Baden region of Germany is the home to one of the country’s largest biogas plants. Requiring 175 tonnes of silage a day, or 165,000 tonnes a year, the biogas plant was originally developed to produce an annual output of 500kW. However, efficient operation and... [read more]

Sparking a reaction

Feature
A fire in the biomass bunkers at a UK power station this time last year was a much needed reminder that storing wood pellet biomass still presents tough challenges   More than 120 firefighters, 15 fire engines, three aerial ladder platforms and a mass foam attack unit were deployed to tackle a fire at two biomass storage hoppers at Tilbury power station in February last year. Although... [read more]