The Biomass Thermal Energy Council has announced plans to release a draft of the first thermal efficiency test method designed specifically for commercial-sized boilers that utilize solid biomass as a fuel stock.
On July 22, the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources introduced a bipartisan energy bill, titled the "Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015." The committee was scheduled to hold business meetings on the bill on July 28 and July 30.
The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center recently announced $1.1 million in funding for three anaerobic digestion projects across Massachusetts that will convert organic materials into energy. The projects are located in Bourne, Freetown and Hadley.
In June, World Bioenergy Association launched a factsheet on thermochemical gasification biomass, the eighth in a series of publications. The factsheet overviews the technology, basics of gasification, feedstock and current global use.
AWWRA, a nonprofit association established in 2012, promotes sustainable, environmentally and economically sound, closed-loop wood waste recycling practices and reuse initiatives through its industry membership and resource tools.
Enel Green Power has brought online the world's first biomass plant used to heat geothermal steam at the Cornia 2 geothermal power plant, which is located in Castelnuovo Val di Cecina in Tuscany, Italy.
Adequately drying wood chip fuel is an important component of maximizing heat and power production, and techniques vary widely.
As you may already know if you work at a biomass power, pellet or biogas plant, we've changed the way we do our plant calls and data maintenance for our print and online maps.
New Holland Agriculture is supplying equipment to the State University of New York that will aid in U.S. Department of Energy-funded research focused on finding ways to reduce the cost of delivering biomass for refinement.
An update of the proposed wood-to-energy (WTE) checkoff program was provided at the 2015 Pellet Fuels Institute conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. The concept is under review by industry, and a draft is expected late this year or early 2016.
The Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery in the heart of the Scottish Highlands installed a biomass boiler in late 2014. According to John Dewar & Sons, the system has cut the carbon footprint of the site by 90 percent.
U.K. Green Investment Bank plc and Equitix have announced a commitment to fund the construction of a GBP 30 million ($46.68 million) energy facility in Sheffield. It will generate over 6.5 MW of green electricity, along with thermal energy.
The Pellet Fuel Institute annual conference is being held July 19-21 in Williamsburg, Virginia, hosting 185 attendees, 31 exhibitors and 11 sponsors. This year's conference began with an overview and analysis of the global pellet market.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has selected five renewable energy projects to receive NextGen Energy grants. The grants were specifically targeted at projects using woody biomass to replace propane as a heat source.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is soliciting nominations for candidates to fill vacancies on the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. Nominations are due Aug. 14.
U.S. EPA's New Source Performance Standards for new residential wood heaters is now in effect, although Wiberg says there are ambiguities. He shares what the Pellet Fuels Institute and others know about the NSPS rule.
The July/August issue of Pellet Mill Magazine covers both plant efficiency and policy matters, as inventory is built up in preparation of the 2015-'16 heating season and upcoming policy issues arise with potential to shape the future of pellet fuel.
The third pellet stove design challenge, led by the Alliance for Green Heat, entered phase one this summer to help consumers identify the most efficient stoves and how best to operate them.
Several regulatory schemes in the U.S. should perk up pellet producers' ears. Hear from industry leaders why.
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel and University of Florida researchers have been awarded a United States-Israel Bi-national Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD) grant to improve the production of biogas on farms.
Planned weekly or monthly and annual outages are essential to running a high-performing, efficient pellet mill.
At the end of June, the U.K.'s Department of Energy and Climate Change published first quarter energy statistics in its Energy Trends and Energy Prices publications. The report shows the U.K. has made progress in achieving its renewable energy goals.
Once a highly manual process, bagging and stacking finished product has greatly improved with automation.
The National Trust, an independent charity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, recently announced its largest-ever investment: £30 million ($46.5 million) in renewable energy to provide heat and power to more of its historic places.
Four years ago, Aurora Wood Pellets Ltd. began the development of a 200,000-metric-ton pellet plant in the Northwest Territories of Canada. With two Forestry Management Agreements in hand, CEO Brad Mapes hopes to purchase the site's land this month.
On July 2, the White House issued a memo on modernizing the regulatory system for biotechnology products to heads of the U.S. EPA, USDA and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It outlines several actions the agencies will take over the next year.
The University of Louisville Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research has formed a partnership with a South Carolina company to accelerate commercialization of a coal-like product made from wood and biomass materials.
McInnis Cement and the Forestry Cooperative Association - St. Elzear have announced the signing of a cooperative agreement to study the feasibility of using forest biomass as an auxiliary fuel for the cement plant under construction in Quebec.
The White House Office of Management and Budget has published a statement detailing its opposition to several components of an appropriations bill pending the in the U.S. House of Representatives, including a provision related biogenic emissions.
Euronext has announced that it will be launching a new wood pellet commodities futures contract in the autumn of 2015, subject to regulatory approval. The contract is aimed at producers, wholesalers and retailers and targets the heating sector.
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