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Volume 5, Issue 6
EU's compromise: the 2030 EU energy and climate framework
Feature
On 24 October, the European Council adopted its position on the future EU climate and energy framework, based on the Commission’s proposal from early 2014. Member States have now agreed on a binding 40% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target, a minimum renewables share of 27% (binding at EU-level only), and an indicative 27% target for energy efficiency. Crushed by budget...
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RHI sustainability criteria agreed
Feature
Bioenergy will be vital to meet our carbon budgets and ensure energy security. However, it has received extensive scrutiny in recent years over sustainability, on potential issues including diverting land use from food production, the impact on biodiversity and the consumption of valuable water resources. The independent statutory body, the Committee on Climate Change, undertook a review of...
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Opportunity or challenge - what next for energy in Asia?
Feature
The rise of South Korea as an increasingly active export market for biomass wood pellets from North America has caused industry observers to look afresh at the potential of Asia, as a whole, to absorb a greater percentage of the world’s pellet production than was previously thought. Two years ago, for example, South Korea took just 2,000 tonnes of Canadian wood pellets, rising to a little...
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Quantum's theory
Feature
Malaysia is one of the largest palm oil producing nations in the world and one of the biggest wood processing countries in Asia. It produces around 21 million tonnes per year of palm oil, 100 million tonnes of fruit bunches and approximately 5 million tonnes of palm kernel shells (PKS). With its wood pellet and woodchip manufacturing facility located at Malaysia’s largest port, Port Klang,...
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A Filipino first
Feature
A boitiz Equity Ventures, through alternative fuel company Aseagas, has partnered with Gazasia to establish a liquid biomethane business in the Philippines. Gazasia has built a similar plant in the UK and will be Aseagas’ partner in Asia. In March earlier this year the two companies began building the first biomethane production plant, which is targeted for completion at the end of 2015....
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Tapping into new markets
Feature
Malaysia’s palm oil sector is a strong driver of the country’s economy and has vast potential for growth within the sector. There is, therefore, a great opportunity for this industry to become a leading source of renewable energy. Through the natural processing of the fruit, the waste generated provides an abundant source of raw material that can be converted to a number of renewable...
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The strongest link
Feature
The Gainesville Renewable Energy Center (GREC) is the largest biomass power plant in the US, producing 102.5MW of clean renewable biomass power from waste wood. The facility is located in Gainesville, Florida and produces enough energy to power roughly 70,000 homes. On 28 October 2014 GREC accepted certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), affirming that GREC’s purchase...
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Skills in the bioenergy sector
Feature
The bioenergy sector (defined as the aggregation of biomass, energy from waste and anaerobic digestion) is a profitable, growing and exciting sector. Its turnover in 2013 in the UK was £3.96 billion (€5 billion)1, and it is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Despite these promising growth trends, barriers still exist: • The dramatic reductions in the government support...
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Keeping silos safe
Feature
Safety plays an important part for a sustainable growth of the biomass industry. Fires, explosions and accidents are costly from an economic, ecological and a social standpoint. Costs can, to a large extent, be avoided by integrating safety as a core value within the industry. To contribute to a sustainable growth of the industry where safety plays an essential part, the industry must gain the...
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Protecting against explosions
Feature
Renewable energies have witnessed double digit growths over recent years. Power plants, local authorities and industry are applying for grants throughout the UK and Ireland to build biomass and waste-to-energy facilities. Industry processes used to convert the fuel to energy: • Direct combustion of biomass material. Some processing may be carried out prior to combustion e.g. sorting,...
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Out of sight, not out of mind
Feature
Dust suppression has become an increasingly important challenge in biomass handling operations, with raised awareness and tighter regulatory standards both contributing motivation to find efficient, cost-effective methods of particle control. Depending on the source and ambient conditions, airborne dust can contribute to a number of concerns, including potential health hazards, explosion risks,...
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From the ground up
Feature
With government agencies poised to more strictly enforce industrial dust regulations, suppliers of bulk material handling systems are investing significant R&D into the design of equipment and techniques that can help contain fugitive particles and thereby improve safety, regulatory compliance and productivity. One of the goals of this research is to minimise the negative consequences...
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Spanish technology in Asia
Feature
In Sarawak, on the Malaysian island of Borneo, the construction of a 120,000 tonne per year wood pellet production plant is nearing completion. Spanish company Prodesa is supplying the turnkey project for this installation. When it comes online in Q1 2015, the facility will be one of the largest in the region, supplying high quality pellet fuel to renewable power plants in South Korea. A diverse...
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Added value
Feature
Walnut Creek Planing produces hardwood components and finished goods at its 125,000 squarefoot manufacturing facility in Holmes County, Ohio, US. Its products support clients from a variety of woodworking industries including those specialising in doors, stairs, furniture and butcher blocks. For years, Walnut Creek Planing ground up its wood shavings waste and sold it as animal bedding. This was...
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Actions speak louder than words
Feature
As the world’s population continues to rapidly grow, so does the demand for raw materials and energy, not to mention environmental challenges. At the port of Amsterdam, the vision is become a network port by 2030. This will see it bridge the gap between global production and regional consumption; between fossil and biobased economies; between the logistics corridor of the West Axis (Westas)...
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From Wight to green
Feature
The historic and picturesque holiday destination of the Isle of Wight in the UK is set to benefit from its inaugural biogas plant. By spring 2015 the new facility, located at Gore Cross, Arreton, promises to deliver England’s largest island with the best in renewable energy technology. Biogas plant supplier Schmack Biogas UK (part of the Viessmann Group, one of the leading international...
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Cellulosic game changer
Feature
A key focus for growth in the biofuels industry is to find solutions for the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to usable fuels, in particular transportation fuels such as petrol and diesel. This search has accelerated in recent years as ethanol and biodiesel alternatives approach limits to growth related to blendwalls and the food-vs-fuel issue. The emphasis on cellulosic fuels is clearly...
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