Valmet adds executive
Bertel Karlstedt has been appointed president of the pulp and energy business line at Valmet Corp. He most recently served as president and CEO of Nordkalk Corp. and previously held positions at Valmet and Metso.

The AVA Group adds industry expert
The AVA Group, a Switzerland-based biotechnology company that offers solutions for the sustainable use of sewage and other biomass, has welcomed Stefan Krawielitzki to its team as an organic chemistry expert. Krawielitzki led Synthon for four years and previously served as head of research and development and deputy head of analytics at the Ehrenstorfer-Schäfers’ laboratory. He also recently served as manager of business development at Aurigon Life Science GmbH, where he was responsible for advising clients in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

Gainesville Renewable Energy Center achieves FSC certification
The Gainesville Renewable Energy Center, a 102.5-MW power facility located in Gainesville, Florida, has received certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, affirming that GREC’s purchase procedures for its waste wood fuels conform to the FSC chain of custody standard. The certification assessment was conducted by SCS Global Services.

Brookfield Renewable to acquire bioenergy capacity in Brazil
Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners LP has announced an agreement to acquire a 488-MW multi-technology renewable portfolio in Brazil from Energisa S.A. that includes 175 MW of biomass capacity. The acquisition will be funded through available capital from Brookfield Renewable and its institutional partners. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

Siemens awarded reaccreditation from IACET
The International Association for Continuing Education and Training has awarded reaccreditation status to Siemens. IACET authorized providers are the only organizations approved to offer IACET continuing education units. The accreditation period extends for five years, and includes all programs offered or created during that time.

Amyris appoints chief financial officer
Amyris Inc. has appointed Raffi Asadorian as the company’s chief financial officer. Prior to joining Amyris, Asadorian served as chief financial officer at Unilabs, a private equity-owned medical diagnostics company based in Switzerland. He previously held a senior executive finance role at Barr Pharmaceuticals and was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in its transactions services group. Paulo Diniz, who previously served as interim chief financial officer of Amyris, will transition to a new role as chairman of Amyris Brasil.

Rentech names new leadership
Rentech Inc. has announced that D. Hunt Ramsbottom has resigned as CEO and president of Rentech and CEO of the general partner of Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP to pursue other opportunities. Ramsbottom has also resigned as a member of the board of directors for both companies. Keith Forman, a member of Rentech Nitrogen’s board since October 2011, has been appointed as CEO and president of Rentech and CEO of the general partner of Rentech Nitrogen. He has also joined the board of Rentech. Forman has a background in master limited partnerships. He previously served as chief financial officer of Crestwood Midstream Partners LP. He also served as senior vice president for El Paso Corp., and chief financial officer of GulfTerra Energy Partners LP. Forman currently serves on the board of Capital Product Partners LP.

Enel adds biomass capacity to existing geothermal plant
Enel Green Power has started construction at the Cornia 2 geothermal power plant in Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, Italy. The facility will use biomass to heat geothermal steam in order to increase the energy efficiency and electricity output of the geothermal cycle. The existing geothermal plant will be supplemented by a small plant powered with locally sourced virgin forest biomass. According to the company, 5 MW of capacity from biomass will be added to a geothermal plant that currently has an installed capacity of 13 MW. The geothermal plant’s annual power output will be boosted by approximately 37 GWh.

ASU professor recognized
Several of Arizona State University’s faculty members were recently appointed university professors, including Roy Curtiss, a professor in the School of Life Sciences and the director of the Centers for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology and Microbial Genetic Engineering in the Biodesign Institute. His research uses microbial genetic manipulation to address problems of global concern. Some of his recent research emphasizes the design and construction of cyanobacterial strains to maximize production of biofuels and biofuel precursors.

Drax appoints executive
Drax Group plc has announced the appointment of Philip Cox as a nonexecutive director and chairman designate, effective Jan. 1. He will succeed Charles Berry as chairman following his previously announced retirement, scheduled for April. Cox previously served as CEO of International Power, where he led the growth and development of a substantial global power generation business.

Fecon launches new website
Fecon Inc. has launched a new website. New Features include a customizable bull hog rotor module that allows the user to build and display three different rotor options and nine different tooling options, then choose the combination that fits their application best. The new “compare” section shows specifications of the different tracked carriers and attachment products, side by side, helping the user find the exact model they are looking for. In addition, product lines have been broken down into more user friendly categories to help the customer quickly find the product information they need. 

Alaska CHP project to feature cofiring capability
The University of Alaska-Fairbanks has selected Stanley Consultants to design a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant. The facility will use two circulating fluidized-bed boilers to provide up to 280,000 pounds per hour of steam to heat both the Fairbanks campus and produce up to 22 MW of electric power using a steam turbine. It will be located adjacent to the existing coal-fired Ben Atkinson Heat and Power Plant and work in conjunction with it. The facility will be fueled  by coal and have the ability to utilize up to 15 percent biomass. The efficient new boilers will result in a marked decrease in regulated emissions including a significant drop in particulates.

Cardia Bioplastics announces new patents
Cardia Bioplastics Ltd. has secured patent protection for its Cardia Compostable, Biohybrid and PPC-starch resin and finished products from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and China patent and trademark offices. Seven new patents were granted during 2014 for Cardia’s bioplastics resin formulations and production processes. These new patents expand Cardia Bioplastics growing intellectual property portfolio of 11 patent families, with 19 patents so far granted in U.S., Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. The patents protect the composition formulation and manufacturing process invented by Cardia’s research and development team. 

Viridis subsidiary renews agreement with Ekman
Viridis Energy Inc. has announced its subsidiary, Scotia Atlantic Biomass Co., has renewed its distribution agreement with Ekman & Co AB. for an additional three-year period. Ekman has served as Scotia Atlantic’s worldwide agent, to arrange short-term and multiyear offtake agreements for its industrial wood pellet production, with European power generators that cofire with wood pellets or have fully converted to biomass. The renewal agreement provides for volume discounts on commissions and fees and expanded volumes in Nova Scotia.

Global Bioenergies produces biochemicals via fermentation
Global Bioenergies has announced it succeeded in producing biosourced propylene by direct fermentation. According to the company, it created a proprietary prototype strain able to convert glucose into propylene at laboratory scale. The company also recently announced it succeeded in producing bio-sourced butadiene via direct fermentation.

Schutte-Buffalo Hammermill under new ownership
Martin Berardi has acquired Schutte-Buffalo Hammermill. Berardi, the incoming CEO, is a recent retiree from Moog Inc., where he served in a variety of roles over 34 years. Ownership of the company has transferred from Thomas Warne and James Guarino, who purchased the company in 2004 following a merger with Buffalo Hammermill Corp.

Ceres adds board member
Ceres Inc. has announced that Aflalo Guimaraes joined its board of directors. He succeeds Raymond Debbane, who retired from the board. Aflalo Guimaraes is a managing director of The Invus Group LLC, an affiliate of Artal Luxembourg S.A. Prior to joining Invus in 1998, he was a manager at Marakon Associates. He also previously worked in the U.S. Federal Reserve.

GTI joins ABO
The Algae Biomass Organization has announced the Gas Technology Institute has joined the organization as a new corporate member. Based in Des Plaines, Illinois, GTI is a leading research, development and training organization that has been addressing the nation’s energy and environmental challenges by developing technology-based solutions for consumers, industry, and government for more than 70 years. The company has a long record of supporting the development and deployment of biomass conversion technologies for biofuels and other applications.

NuState announces carbon credit capture application
NuState Energy Holdings Inc. has developed a carbon credit capture application to enhance its portfolio of the Global Asset Tracking solution GPSTrax. This new product will validate, compile, certify and present for trade the carbon credits available from the clean energy projects the company has identified. These include projects in biomass, hydropower, solar and wind all across the globe.