The booming &ldquo;it&rdquo; city known for its legendary music venues welcomed the 13th annual International Biomass Conference &amp; Expo, which took place Feb. 3-5 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort &amp; Convention Center. The event drew a diverse mix of technology developers, academia, investors, service and equipment providers, bioenergy plant personnel and a range of other stakeholders who met to gather information, network and collaborate.
&nbsp;Following a day-long preconference workshop focused on biomass preparation, storage and handling, the event kicked off with annual awards bestowed by Biomass Magazine. Bruce Lisle, founder and CEO of pellet manufacturer Energex Corp., received the Excellence in Bioenergy Award, and Restoration Fuels LLC and the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities were named recipients of Groundbreaker of the Year Award. Received on the organizations&rsquo; behalf was endowment President and CEO Carlton Owen.
&nbsp;Following the awards, trade organization leaders participated in an industry roundtable to discuss policy, challenges, priorities and the messages the industry conveys to policymakers and the public. Panelists included Patrick Serfass, American Biogas Council; Tim Portz, Pellet Fuels Institute; Bob Cleaves, Biomass Power Association and Dan Wilson, Biomass Thermal Energy Council.
Roughly 80 speakers presented during the event span, during sessions focused on biomass heat and power, pellets and densified biomass, biogas and waste-to-energy, and advanced biofuels. The closing event brought attendees to Aries Clean Energy&rsquo;s Lebanon, Tennessee, biomass gasification plant, as well as WastAway Fuels&rsquo; municipal solid waste-to-densified fuel operation in Morrison, Tennessee. &nbsp;The 2021 International Biomass Conference &amp; Expo will be held in Jacksonville, Florida, March 15-17.
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By Anna Simet Photos by Event Coverage Nashvillev

Anna Simet, Biomass Magazine editor, left, leads the association leader roundtable discussion. Participating panelists were Bob Cleaves, Biomass Power Association; Patrick Serfass, American Biogas Council; Dan Wilson, Biomass Thermal Energy Council, 

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Carlton Owen, CEO of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, accepted the Groundbreaker of the Year Award on behalf of the endowment and Restoration Fuels LLC.

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(From left) Serfass, Cleaves, Wilson and Portz agreed that rather than arguing the case of carbon neutrality, one of the main focuses of the bioenergy industry's unified message should be alleviation of a waste problem

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Jason Kessler, president and owner of grand opening reception sponsor KESCO Inc., 
cut the ribbon to the trade show floor.

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Kent Mellen and Andy Turner of exhibitor BM&M Screening Solutions discuss the company's offerings with a booth visitor. 

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Chris Wiberg, vice president of laboratories at Timber Products Inspection/Biomass Energy Lab, converses with booth visitors.

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Jennifer Frost and Laura Ostlie man the exhibit 
booth for the city of Benson and Swift County, 
Minnesota. 

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(From left) Dominik Stracke, Harry Rotsch  and Carlos Soteldo represent exhibitor KOBO USA LLC.

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Jason Peterson, Henrik Jacobsen and Jose Ignacio Pedrajas from exhibitor PRODESA engage with trade show attendee.

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Nico Nicoletti, owner of general session sponsor IMS Group USA, takes the innovation stage.  

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(From left) Roger Ford, CEO, Eureka Energy Corporation; Ernie Pollitzer, owner and senior engineer, Clean Energy Consultants; Tom Wassel, Air Techniques Inc., and Thomas Brill, Of Counsel, Greenberg Traurig LLP, participate in a biogas and RNG market

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Laurenz Schmidt, FutureMetrics, presents during a panel discussion on global wood pellet markets. Additional panelists, from left, included moderator William Perritt, Fastmarkets RISI; Bruce Lisle, Energex America Inc.; and Tim Portz, Pellet Fuels In

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Bruce Lisle, CEO and founder of Energex, was named recipient of the Excellence in
Bioenergy Award.

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The 13th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo 
drew nearly 900 attendees to Nashville, Tennessee.

Meeting in the Music City

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