The Japanese biomass market—particularly its relative fuel flexibility compared to the wood pellet-dominated European market—will create an interesting trading environment as demand grows in the coming years.
Backed by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities, construction of Restoration Fuels, a commercial-scale torrefaction facility in John Day, Oregon, is well underway.
Utilization of fossil fuels can be made more environmentally friendly by adding wood—as concluded based on the preliminary results of the year-long study carried out by thermal engineers of Tallinn University of Technology.
Greenlane Renewables Inc. announced on Dec. 27 that its wholly owned subsidiary, Greenlane Biogas North America Ltd., has secured a new $8.3 million (US$6.3 million) biogas upgrading contract with a customer in California.
The BTEC has thanked the House Ways and Means Committee for including the Section 25D residential biomass heating system tax credit in the draft GREEN Act, but is urging the committee to include the Section 48 credit for commerical biomass systems.
On Dec. 19, the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $20 million in funding to develop technologies to quantify feedstock-related emissions at the field level.
President Trump signed two legislative packages into law on Dec. 20, avoiding another government shutdown. The packages include all 12 fiscal year 2020 funding bills and tax extenders legislation that will benefit biofuels and bioenergy.
Congress has passed a $5 million allotment for the new Community Wood Energy and Innovations Program in the $1.4 trillion spending deal, extended the Section 25C Wood and Pellet Stove Credit, and reauthorized the carbon neutrality of biomass policy.
IAC has partnered with Agra Industries to bring to market an enhanced line of equipment to handle the wet bucking, chopping of the harvested hemp, drying of the hemp, storage and shipping of the material in various stages for extraction.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 17 voted to pass two legislative packages that comprise all 12 fiscal year 2020 funding bills. The packages also include tax extenders legislation that extends several biofuel and bioenergy tax credits.
Dan Brouillette was sworn in to serve as the 15th U.S. secretary of energy on Dec. 11. He was nominated to the post by President Trump on Nov. 7 and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 2 by a vote of 70 to 15.
Göteborg Energi and Siemens are cooperating to test state-of-the-art gas turbine technology that enables the operation of renewable fuels in the Rya combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plant in Sweden. The facility is currently powered by natural gas.
Caribou Biofuels Inc. has entered into an agreement with the Research Foundation for SUNY, on behalf of SUNY Cobleskill, to develop and commercialize a rotary gasifier that turns combustible waste into biofuel and a soil supplement.
The EIA released the December edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Dec. 11 predicting nonhydropower renewables will provide 10 percent of total U.S. utility-scale power generation in 2019, increasing to 12 percent in 2020.
Duke Energy and a consortium of other utilities are securing poultry waste RECs from the Carolina Poultry Power facility, which generates 2 MW of power and 75,000 tons of steam per hour using more than 230 tons of turkey waste per day.
Dominion Energy and Vanguard Renewables announced Dec. 11 a more than $200 million, nationwide strategic partnership to convert methane from U.S. dairy farms into clean, RNG that can heat homes, power businesses and fuel vehicles.
With the coming of the winter heating season, the Colorado State Forest Service is debuting a new tool to help builders make new buildings more climate conscious and less dependent on non-renewable sources of energy.
E.ON is planning to build a biomass power plant on a paper mill site provided by UPM in Hürth. The new plant is designed for an electrical output of 20 megawatts (MW) and a thermal firing capacity of 87 MW.
The RNG Coalition has launched the Sustainable Methane Abatement and Recycling Timeline (SMART) Initiative, under which RNG stakeholders aim to develop an action to plan to capture and use methane more than than 43,000 North American sites by 2050.
The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas commenced the North American renewable natural gas (RNG) industry's annual conference program on Dec. 3 by celebrating industry growth and recognizing 13 companies for their RNG projects.
The U.S. Senate voted 70-15 on Dec. 2 to confirm Dan Brouillette as energy secretary following his Nov. 7 nomination by President Trump. Brouillette previously served as deputy energy secretary under former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
Members of the international biogas industry on Dec. 3 announced the launch of the Integrated Biogas Alliance, an innovative global partnership that will offer state-of-the-art, turnkey technology solutions for converting organic waste into energy.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced it will provide up to $15 million in new funding to deploy energy infrastructure on tribal lands. Biomass, biogas and waste-to-energy systems are among those that can qualify for funding.
The government of Ontario announced Nov. 18 it will launch public consultations to identify potential changes that would reduce red tape and grow untapped economic opportunities for on-farm biogas operations.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Adirondack Park Agency, and New York State Police on Nov. 14 formally commissioned a renewable biomass heating system at the State Office Campus in Ray Brook, New York.
The House Ways and Means Committee released a discussion draft of the Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now (GREEN) Act on Nov. 19. The draft includes several tax incentives to support biofuels and bioenergy.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced its Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on Nov. 19-20 in Washington, D.C. The event is open to the public.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released an updated Short-Term Energy Outlook on Nov. 13 predicting that non-hydro renewables will provide 10 percent of total U.S. utility-scale power generation this year, increasing to 12 percent in 2020.
President Trump on Nov. 7 formally nominated current U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette to serve as the next secretary of energy. Brouillette will replace current Secretary of Energy Rick Perry if confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
American Biogas Council Director Bryan Sievers testified at a hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Nov. 7 focused on implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill's rural development and energy programs.
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