Enviva, the world's largest producer of industrial wood pellets, April 12 released its latest Track & Trace sourcing data, which marks two years of publicly available reporting of the company's sourcing material.
On April 12, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced the Hemp Farming Act of 2018, legislation that aims to legalize and clearly define hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the list of controlled substances.
Enviva Partners LP has announced its deep-water marine terminal in Chesapeake, Virginia, is expected to resume full operations by June 30 following a previously announced fire that damaged the facility on Feb. 27.
The International Renewable Energy Agency has released new data that shows global renewable power generation capacity increased by 167 GW in 2017, reaching 2,179 GW. This represents an annual growth of approximately 8.3 percent.
On April 12, House Agriculture Committee Chairman K Michael Conaway, R-Texas, released a draft of the 2018 Farm Bill. The legislation reauthorizes many bioenergy-related programs, but provides them with only discretionary funding.
On April 9, Drax Group, owner of the largest power station in Western Europe, signed up to the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a global coalition of counties, states, cities and businesses committed to ending coal generation.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the April edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting nonhydropower renewables will provide 10 percent of electricity generation this year, increasing to 11 percent in 2019.
The U.K. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has released provisional 2017 energy data, reporting renewable energy generation reached a record high of 98.9 terawatt hours (TWh) last year, up 18.8 percent when compared to 2016.
BioPower Sustainable Energy Corp., a subsidiary of True North Timber, has acquired the assets of the former Rentech pellet plant in Atikokan, Ontario. The company plans to sell both commercial pellets and residential heating pellets.
Nippon Paper Industries Co. Ltd. held a completion ceremony March 16 for the biomass mixed combustion power generation facility at Ishinomaki Hibarino Power Plant, operated by Nippon Paper Ishinomaki Energy Center Ltd.
While the export industry and demand outside North America is out of our stakeholders' control—as are external market forces such as the weather, and the price of fossil fuels—there are things that we can and must do to influence domestic growth.
Severity of winters and the price of heating oil are impossible to predict, but it is vital we plan based on the trends we are seeing now—shorter heating seasons and low-priced alternatives—as we look into the future of our industry.
Technology company Protacon has purchased a substantial part of Inray Ltd, a Finnish company supplying X-ray technology based measurement systems to power and thermal plants, including those fueled by biomass.
The Massachusetts government has announced $450,000 in funding for the 2018 Commonwealth Woodstove Change-out Program, which provides rebates to homeowners two replace older, inefficient woodstoves with cleaner, EPA-certified wood and pellet stoves.
On March 20, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced U.S. manufacturers of densified biomass fuel reported producing 650,000 tons of product and selling 790,000 tons in December.
The USDA has released a new report that measures economic growth, job creation and household income from biofuel and bioenergy production, along with future growth in renewable chemicals and biobased products.
In November 2017, the PFI Standards Program was updated to include the testing of the same metals that are referenced in the international pellet specifications published under ISO 17225-2, and referenced in wood pellet quality certification schemes.
Maine policymakers have undertaken a number of new initiatives to promote biomass heating, motivated largely out of concern for the future of our state's forest products industry.
Advanced wood heat is a solution for the "duck curve" in the U.S. Northeast. By deploying it instead of heat pumps, states would not only flatten the duck's head, but reduce total power consumption, and offset the use of other fossil
In mid-March, the U.S. EPA awarded $1.8 million to six small businesses to develop technologies that provide solutions for environmental issues. Two of the six companies are developing biomass-fueled thermoelectric stoves.
With every new installation it helps guide to success, the Northern Forest Center is demonstrating that automated wood heat is a stable, affordable option that benefits both the environment and the local economy.
The USDA is soliciting applications for fiscal year 2018 Rural Energy for America Program funding. The program helps agricultural producers and rural small businesses install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements.
Canada's wood pellet industry stands patiently ready to deliver domestic supply as a federal Clean Fuel Standard and complementary support mechanisms develop.
Scott Williamson, the "Pellet Guy," shares insight based on his extensive knowledge and experience in pellet stove installation, service and repair.
Best practices and lessons learned from decades of experience were recently used to resolve a major pellet silo fire.
On March 15, Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. released fiscal year 2017 financial results and provided an update of its planned expansion and acquisition projects. The company completed an initial public offering (IPO) on Feb. 6.
Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. has announced plans to redevelop an existing particle board facility in Smithers, British Columbia, to a wood pellet production facility. The project will be completed by Smithers Pellet Limited Partnership.
On March 5, Orsted broke ground on a project that aims to increase the efficiency of its Denmark-based Herning Power Station, a combined-heat-and-power facility that was converted to biomass fuel in 2009.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the March edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting that non-hydropower renewables will provide 10 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2018 and nearly 11 percent in 2019.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue administered the oath of office to Bill Northey March 7 at the Annual Iowa Ag Leaders Dinner. Northey previously served as Iowa's Secretary of Agriculture, a position he had held for more than 11 years.
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