On May 16, USDA Forest Service Interim Chief Vicki Christiansen announced the award of almost $8 million in Wood Innovation Grants to expand and accelerate wood products and wood energy markets.
On May 18, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 198 to 213 to defeat the 2018 Farm Bill. One day prior to the vote, members of the House defeated a proposed amendment by a vote of 75 to 340 that would have repealed the Farm Bill's Energy Title.
The International Renewable Energy Agency has announced the renewables industry created more than 500,000 new jobs globally last year, a 5.3 percent increase from 2016. Approximately 10.3 million are now employed by the renewable energy industry.
The American Biogas Council in conjunction with the Agriculture Energy Coalition and the Biomass Power Association is urging Congress to oppose H.R. 2, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018, also known as the Farm Bill.
On May 10, California Gov. Jerry Brown issued an executive order that aims to protect communities from wildfire and climate impacts. The California Biomass Energy Alliance said it is encouraged that Brown recognizes the importance of biomass energy.
On May 14, the Agriculture Energy Coalition sent a letter to the House of Representatives opposing the elimination of a stand-alone energy title and exclusion of mandatory funding for energy programs in the 2018 Farm Bill.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the May edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting that nonhydropower renewables will provide more than 10 percent of electricity generation this year, up slightly from last year.
Air Products has acquired gasification technology from Shell. The acquisition includes Shell's associated patent portfolios for solids (coal and biomass) gasification and sharing of patent rights for residue and biomass gasification.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May recently helped celebrate the opening of a new bioenergy training center at the U.K.-based Berkshire College of Agriculture. The new energy center will provide training in in biofuel engineering and related skills.
Asia's demand for biomass is growing rapidly. Wood pellet imports into South Korea and Japan have grown exponentially in the past few years. In 2017 South Korea imported 2.4 million tons (Mt) of wood pellets, 20 times more than was imported in 2012.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently announced that U.S. manufacturers of densified biomass fuel reported producing 620,000 tons and selling 600,000 tons of fuel products in January.
On April 30, Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and David Young, R-Iowa, launched a bipartisan House Food Waste Caucus to explore opportunities to reduce food waste. The American Biogas Council spoke at a recent briefing hosted by Pingree.
The USDA is soliciting applications for up to $5 million in funding under its Repowering Assistance Program, which helps eligible biorefineries use biomass as a replacement for fossil fuels used to create heat or power.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced four funding opportunities totaling up to $78 million to support early-stage bioenergy research and development under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office.
Chempolis, Fortum and Numaligarh Revinery Ltd. have formed a joint venture to develop a biorefinery in India that will convert 300,000 tons of bamboo annually into ethanol, furfural, acetic acid and biocoal.
A new systems biology model that mimics the process of wood formation allows scientists to predict the effects of switching on and off 21 pathway genes involved in producing lignin, a primary component of wood.
The European Investment Bank, the EU bank, announced the launch of a new financing initiative April 16 that aims to unlock close to EUR 1 billion of investment in the agriculture and bioeconomy sector.
Federal subsidies for renewable energy—including biofuels for transportation use and renewable generation of electricity—dropped to $6.7 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2016, a 56 percent decline from FY 2013.
Will Australia use bioenergy to its full potential, or primarily serve export markets?
A proposed bill sponsored by the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas that seeks to accelerate the production and integration of green gas into California's natural gas supply passed out of the State Assembly's Utilities and Energy Committee April 26.
Ameresco Inc. announced April 23 that the landfill gas to renewable natural gas facility at Waste Management's Woodland Meadows Landfill has achieved EPA approval and is now in operation. The RNG facility was commissioned in November.
The Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas has relased a new map and project database of renewable natural gas production facilities in North America. The database reveals that there are now at least 76 operating RNG facilities in the U.S. and Canada.
Wood energy was among the topics discussed during an April 19 hearing held by the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that examined rural energy challenges and opportunities.
The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, a multidonor fund administered by the African Development Bank Group, is making headway in effecting real socioeconomic change in sub-Saharan Africa—and biomass power is an integral component.
Veolia is launching an online trading platform in the U.K. that makes it easier to sell and buy organic resources. The BioTrading website will be a sales and auction marketplace that connects buyers to the rest of the value chain.
Biomass Secure Power Inc. has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with River Basin Energy Inc. The IP covered under the agreement includes technology that will be deployed at BSP's Louisiana plant for the manufacture of biocoal.
At several locations around the world, a partnership of international companies initiated by Clean Energy Generation and Stork, a Fluor Co., plans to construct facilities for the commercial-scale production of biocoal.
On April 18, the House Agriculture Committee passed its version of the 2018 Farm Bill, officially titled the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018. The bill reauthorizes many bioenergy programs, but provides them with only discretionary funding.
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.
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.
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