The American Biogas Council has announced its staff will work remotely for the rest of the month, effective March 16. The organization will continue to operate at full capacity. ABC staff can be reached by phone, email and teleconference.
The U.K. government recently released provisional energy statistics for 2019, reporting that renewable energy production increased by 4.9 percent last year. Bioenergy output of was up 2.1 percent for the year.
The U.S. Department of Energy on March 16 announced it has canceled the open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee scheduled for March 24-25 due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The U.S. Department of Energy has scheduled an open meeting of the Biomass Research and Development and Technical Advisory Committee for March 24-25. The meeting will be held in Arlington, Virginia.
Spain-based power producer Greenalia announced on March 10 that its 50 megawatt (MW) biomass power plant in Curtis-Teixeiro, Spain, began operations ahead of schedule and is currently producing and selling electricity.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts 19 percent of U.S. electricity will be generated from renewable sources this year, up from 17 percent last year, according to the agency's latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, released March 11.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed an executive order on March 10 that sets a new goal for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and outlines several steps the state will take to combat climate change, including expanding Oregon's Clean Fuels Program.
The New Jersey Senate on March 5 passed a food waste recycling bill that expands the definition of Class I renewables to include electricity generated from methane produced by food waste processing. The bill will now be considerd by the governor.
The USDA's Commodity Credit Corp. and Farm Service Agency published a final rule on March 2 implementing changes to the agency's Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), as required by the 2018 Farm Bill.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Feb. 28 announced the appointment of Bette Brand to serve as USDA Rural Development Deputy. Brand replaces former Rural Development Deputy Donald “DJ� LaVoy following his retirement.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a bill on March 4 that extends the state's agricultural biomass income tax and corporate income tax credit for 10 years, through Jan. 1, 2030. The bill also establishes new reporting requirements.
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., filed an amendment to the American Energy Innovation Act on March 3 that includes an expansion of the residential energy tax credit to include efficient biomass thermal boilers and furnaces.
A research team, led by Professor Jungki Ryu in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST has presented a new biofuel system that uses lignin found in biomass for the production of hydrogen.
The U.K. government has proposed to exclude new coal-to-biomass conversions from future rounds of its CfD scheme. Under the proposal, dedicated biomass with CHP and various forms of biogas projects would continue to be eligible for CfDs.
Torrefied wood pellets were among the products discussed during a Feb. 26 hearing held by the House Subcommittee on Conservation and Forests, titled “Innovative Wood Products: Promoting Rural Economies and Healthy Forests.�
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, has introduced legislation that sets a goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in U.S. agriculture by 2040. Anaerobic digestion technology would play a part in reaching that goal.
For more than 30 years as a single-source contractor, IMI Industrial Services Group has provided a complete range of industrial contracting services and turnkey solutions, including dryer technology and the balance of plant systems.
Drax announced on Feb. 27 that the company will stop burning coal by March 2021, far ahead of the U.K. government's 2025 deadline. Drax also released full year 2019 financial results on Feb. 27 and provided an update of its biomass strategy.
Biomass electricity production set a new record in the U.K. last year, according to the fourth quarter 2019 Electrical Insights Report, produced by researchers at Imperial College London in collaboration with Drax.
The Maine Public Utilities Commission issued a notice on Feb. 14 seeking proposals from qualifying renewable generation resources for the sale of energy or RECs. The facilities must meet Class IA requirements under the state's RPS.
The U.S. EPA delivered a proposed rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget on Feb. 24 focused on the treatment of biogenic carbon dioxide emissions under the Clean Air Act's permitting programs.
The 13th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo drew nearly 900 attendees to Nashville, Tennessee.
Valmet will supply a flue gas condensing plant to Helen Ltd's Vuosaari C bioenergy heating plant in Helsinki, Finland. At the facility, heat from flue gases will be recovered to increase district heat production by 69 megawatts (MW).
Covanta Holding Corp. produced a record volume of electricity at its energy from waste (EfW) plants last year, according to information released during the company's fourth quarter earnings call, held Feb. 21.
Smithfield Foods Inc. and Roeslein Alternative Energy announced an additional $45 million investment in their Monarch Bioenergy joint venture, which captures methane from hog manure to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) in Missouri.
Legislation recently introduced in Minnesota aims to establish a state regulatory policy allowing natural gas utilities to add alternative fuels, such as renewable natural gas and hydrogen gas, to their distributions systems.
Xebec Adsorption Inc. and Bähler Biogas Inc. have signed an agreement to develop an integrated facility in Quebec, Canada, to process various organic wastes for the production of renewable natural gas (RNG) and biofertilizer.
Brightmark has expanded its Western New York dairy biogas project to partner with six total farms throughout the region. The project will extract methane from 265,000 gallons of dairy manure per day and convert it into RNG.
The USDA unveiled its Agriculture Innovation Agenda on Feb. 20. The initiative, in part, aims to support renewable fuels, including ethanol, biodiesel and biomass. This includes a goal to achieve market-driven blend rates of E30 by 2050.
GE announced Feb. 5 that it will provide its renewable steam technology for the high efficiency Kamisu Biomass Power Generation plant in Japan. The facility is scheduled to start commercial operation in July 2023.
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