December 11, 2015
In January Biomass Magazine story “The Untold Upside of Low Oil Prices,� Senior Editor Ron Kotrba speaks to executives managing different renewable fuel facilities, and finds that it's not all doom-and-gloom when the cost of crude nosedives
Next month, a textbook is scheduled for release, written to help designers create heating systems that incorporate renewable energy heat sources. Solid fuel boilers fueled by cordwood, chips and pellets are among the heat sources discussed.
Enviva Holdings LP recently announced it is establishing the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund, a $5 million, 10-year program designed to protect tens of thousands of acres of bottomland forests in northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia.
Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pa., recently introduce legislation that aims to prevent the Clean Power Plan for taking effect until countries accounting for at least 80 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions enact similar regulations.
Visible progress has been made with the construction of the 41 MW Templeborough Biomass Power Plant located in Rotherham, England. The company has launched a website dedicated to the project, including a time lapse camera of developments on site.
A new white paper published by FutureMetrics offers a critique of Climate Central's recent story "Pulp Fiction," a three-part special report by John Upton that criticizes the use of wood pellets.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the December edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, providing updated predictions regarding the use of biomass in the electric power and home heating sectors.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it will hold a live webinar titled "Integrating Bioenergy into the 9th-12th Grade Classroom," on Dec. 10. According to the DOE, the webinar is part of the BioenergizeME Office Hours webinar series.
In the days leading up to the United Nations' Conference of the Parties, Ontario passed legislation to permanently ban coal-fired electricity generation in the province. Ontario is the first to do so in North America.
The European Commission has announced the adoption of a new Circular Economy Package that aims to stimulate Europe's transition towards a circular economy. The effort has been criticized for its lack of mandatory food collection.
Dovre Group Plc's associate SaraRasa Bioindo has signed an off-take agreement with CellMark Energy. According to the agreement, Cellmark Energy will purchase a majority portion of the wood pellets produced by SaraRasa.
A large group of representatives from industry, non-profit organizations and educational institutions gathered on Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C. as part of the Biomass Thermal Energy Councils' Biomass Thermal DC Summit.
In a vote of 242-180, the U.S. House has voted to repeal the U.S. EPA's Clean Power Plan, and through another vote of 235-188, to block EPA rules governing emissions from new power plants. President Obama has stated he plans to veto the measures.
The European Commission has announced that U.K. support for the conversion of the Lynemouth power station from coal to biomass complies with EU state aid rules. The U.K. informed the EC of plans to support the conversion project in Dec. 2014.
This week, President Obama traveled to Paris to join nearly 200 nations for the COP21 global conference on climate change. Coinciding with the conference, was the announcement that Obama and 19 other world leaders launched "Mission Innovation."
BBI International has announced the Global Pellet Market Outlook Summit as a pre-conference seminar for the 2016 International Biomass Conference & Expo. The event will take place April 11 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
November 25, 2015
The Global Pellet Market Outlook Summit will be held on April 11 in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's a really nice compliment to the largest annual gathering of biomass professionals in the U.S., an event that already has plenty of content dedicated t
According to a University of Illinois expert in environmental economics, even after accounting for factors ranging from harvesting to transportation to the U.K., wood pellets still trump coal by a wide margin in carbon emissions savings.
The Pellet Fuels Institute has announced Energex has qualified its Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, and Lac-Megantic, Quebec, facilities under the PFI Standards Program. The pellet producer is the eighth company to qualify under the program.
Rentech Inc. has released operational updates on its Canadian pellets plants. According to the company, the Wawa, Ontario, plant is back online, while the Atikokan, Ontario, facility recently achieved record weekly production volumes.
On Nov. 25, the U.K. government published its spending review, which includes details of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's budget for the next four years. The budget includes calls for extension and reform of the Renewable Heat Incentive.
Months have passed since the release of the Clean Power Plan final rules, and states and utilities are busy charting their paths forward.
On Nov. 25, the U.K. government will announce the contents of its long-awaited Comprehensive Spending Review. This document effectively sets the budgets of many departments and agencies, including the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Drax Group plc released a trading update on Nov. 24, reporting that trading conditions in the markets in which the company operates have remained challenging. Biomass operations, however, are continuing in line with expectations.
Currently focused on converting a shuttered ethanol facility into a pellet plant, Northeast Wood Products is well on its way to reaching its five-year goal of 1.5 million tons of annual capacity.
There will be additional modifications in the wood pellet industry as ridiculously low oil prices continue. We are fortunate for our system in which stress creates change and then growth.
A report commissioned by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, NAFO and USIPA, finds the U.S. export of industrial wood pellets to meet renewable energy goals in the EU is not a threat to the sustainability of southern U.S. forests.
If you've ever traveled to the Pacific Northwest, one of the many impressions you'll take away is the sheer abundance of forests and woody biomass. Some states, however, face very different problems in managing their forests
The final issue of Pellet Mill Magazine in 2015 is dedicated entirely to Asian pellet production and markets. Although still in its infancy, work to open and stabilize new markets for wood pellets in Asia will continue.
The first six months of majority Conservative rule in the United Kingdom has been characterized by drastic budget cuts, including removal of subsidies for biomass power and other renewable energy.
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