On March 16, Rentech Inc. released its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, reporting the company's fiber businesses Fulghum Fibers and New England Wood Pellets generated record EBITDA in 2015.
On March 11, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed legislation that doubles the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) while eliminating coal from Oregon's energy sources. The measure also includes provisions related to biomass energy.
With the growing need for high volume processing of organics for compost and anaerobic digestion (AD) conversion, WSM has introduced the WSM BioPrep Organics Processing System, a complete high-capacity system to convert waste into feedstock.
On March 3, two subcommittees associated with the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology held an oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee program. Abengoa projects were among those discussed during the event.
The board of directors of the Biomass Thermal Energy Council officially announced the appointment of Jeff Serfass to take over for Joel Stronberg as BTEC's executive director. Serfass led the organization in its formative years in 2009 and 2010.
The Alliance for Green Heat and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority recently announced that seven pellet stoves have been chosen as finalists in the Pellet Stove Design Challenge.
A small stand of poplar trees harvested from a University of Tennessee AgResearch Center is set to help scientists progress further down the path toward low-cost, high-quality biomass and a bioeconomy.
Legislation recently introduced in Maine aims to support local pellet producers by encouraging public postsecondary educational institutions to give preference to Maine producers when entering into heating fuel contracts.
Oregon has passed a bill that doubles its renewable portfolio standard (RPS), phases out coal power by 2025 and provides incentives to energy efficiency, small- and community-scale renewable projects and some existing biomass energy plants.
On March 3, the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change launched a consultation on reforms to the Renewable Heat Incentive.
The USDA recently published a fact sheet highlighting its investments in rural America, including several related to sparking innovation in America's bioeconomy to support the development of biomanufacturing and advanced biofuels.
The European Commission is seeking public input on its post-2020 sustainable bioenergy policy. The three-month consultation period began Feb. 10 and concludes May 10. Those who wish to weigh in are asked to complete a nine-part online survey.
On Feb. 24, the House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing on the state of the rural economy featuring testimony by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. Biofuels and bioenergy were among the topics discussed during the nearly three-hour event.
The U.K. Green Investment Bank plc and Equitix, an infrastructure project management and delivery company, have jointly acquired a biomass district heating plant in northern Scotland, with working plans to expand the network.
Every year since 2012, Biomass Magazine and BBI International have given out two awards at the International Biomass Conference & Expo: the Groundbreaker of the Year Award, and the Excellence in Bioenergy Award.
The Northern Forest Center is expanding a program that helps Vermonters switch to high-efficiency wood pellet boilers to provide heat for homes, businesses and other properties in the Northeast Kingdom.
The U.S. EPA has scheduled a public meeting of the chartered Science Advisory Board March 31-April 1. During the meeting, the SAB is expected to conduct a quality review of a draft report on the accounting framework for biogenic carbon emissions.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced an open meeting of its Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee is scheduled for March 8-9 in Arlington, Virginia.
U.K.-based National Trust has announced its first completed Renewable Energy Investment Programme project, Upton House, Warwickshire, has made the switch from oil to a renewable energy heating system.
Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have identified regions in the United States where bioenergy crops would grow best while minimizing effects on water quantity and quality.
ElectraTherm has shipped the Power+ Generator 4400 to a chicken farm in the United Kingdom, its second application in the country to utilize biomass to generate emission-free electricity. The project is expected to be commissioned this spring.
The Biomass Research and Development Board, an interagency collaboration composed of senior decision-makers from federal agencies and the White House, recently published a report, titled “Federal Activities Report on the Bioeconomy.�
Risk drives project developers to more carefully consider every aspect of a project, identify potential problems within it, and develop and deploy measures to protect against them whenever possible.
Amber Rudd, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, visited Croft Castle in Herefordshire countryside to see how a new biomass heating system is getting the property off oil, reducing costs and benefiting the environment.
A report released to the European Union Directorate-General for Energy, titled “Carbon impacts of biomass consumed in the EU: quantitative assessment,� confirms using bioenergy has significant carbon savings and can reduce greenhouse emissions.
Despite a challenging quarter that saw a 10 percent decrease in net sales, Astec Industries President and CEO Benjamin Brock said the future of Astec is bright, and highlighted pellet plant quoting as an active area in its business.
As efforts to conserve and recycle natural resources increase, urban wood waste utilization projects are becoming more popular in cities across the U.S.
Via a contractual arrangement unique to biomass heat in the U.S., Wilton, New Hampshire-based High Mowing School replaced fuel oil with a biomass district heating system from Xylogen.
Despite challenging market conditions in the broader energy sector, Enviva LP completed 2015 with continued strong operating performance, said Chairman and CEO John Keppler during the company's Q4 2015 and year-end financial earnings call.
Biomass Magazine recently launched registration for the International Biomass Conference & Expo tour sites; one of the destinations is Blue Sphere Corp.'s new 5.2-MW biogas plant in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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