Pellet Mill Monthly - December 6, 2011

U.K. wood fuel supplier map available In partnership with the U.K.'s Carbon Trust, the Forestry Commission's Biomass Energy Centre has released a new and improved fuel supplier database. READ MORE SHARE
BTEC elects new board members, names Seymour executive director The Biomass Thermal Energy Council elected new members to the board of directors and named Joseph Seymour as executive director. READ MORE SHARE
	Ontario biomass plant conversion in final regulatory stage Ontario Power Generation's biomass repowering project in Atikokan, Ontario, has entered the last part of the regulatory approval process: a 30-day public comment on the Ontario Ministry of Environment's review of its Certificate of Approval. READ MORE SHARE
Enviva announces development of Virginia pellet mill Just months after announcing development of a new pellet mill in North Carolina, Enviva LP announced another new facility, this time for Courtland, Va. READ MORE SHARE
RWE npower's 750-MW biomass power plant fires up Within the next two weeks, RWE npower's Tilbury, England, coal plant will be commissioned as a dedicated biomass power plant with an astonishing output of about 750 megawatts. READ MORE SHARE
U.K.'s RHI open for applications After a delay in implementation and a reduction to large biomass power tariff levels, the U.K.'s Renewable Heat Incentive is open for applications as of Nov. 28. READ MORE SHARE
Berlin, N.H., incentivizes residential pellet heat Through the Model Neighborhood Project, as many as 40 homeowners in Berlin, N.H., will receive subsidies to switch from heating oil systems to advanced wood pellet boilers in the next two years. READ MORE SHARE
Heating the Midwest details goals Biomass thermal has great potential in the Midwest, and stakeholders representing various industries across the board are collaborating to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead. READ MORE SHARE
ConocoPhillips, Enviva to build torrefied wood pellet plant Global energy giant ConocoPhillips has partnered with U.S. wood pellet manufacturer Enviva LP to build a torrefied wood pellet plant under the company name Eco Biomass Technologies. READ MORE SHARE
Maine port expands to handle woody biomass exports The Port of Eastport in Maine is on the cusp of completing an expansion that will cater to woody biomass demand in Europe. READ MORE SHARE
U.K.'s DECC RO banding gives pellets advantage over coal Under the U.K.s new Renewable Obligations program released in October, pellets are set to gain an advantage over coal of more than $15 per gigajoule. READ MORE SHARE
USDA announces bioenergy project funding Deputy Agriculture Undersecretary for Rural Development Doug O'Brien announced Nov. 17 that USDA is funding a series of projects to convert biomass to energy through USDA's Rural Energy for America program. READ MORE SHARE
BTEC webinar examines biomass heat in the U.S. West Three panelists discussed the potential, challenges and developments of biomass heat in the West during a Nov. 10 Biomass Thermal Energy Council webinar titled "Regional Developments of Biomass Energy-Western Region." READ MORE SHARE
Experts discuss biomass's place in the U.S. power industry The U.S. electricity industry includes about 300 gigawatts of coal-fired power, generated from large-scale power plants with electric capacities of anywhere from 200 to 4,000 megawatts. Most of these plants can easily use biomass to some degree. READ MORE SHARE
Vilsack announces renewable energy funding recipients USDA has selected 67 projects for funding that focus on helping rural agricultural producers reduce energy consumption and costs; use renewable energy technologies in their operation; and/or conduct feasibility studies for renewable energy projects. READ MORE SHARE
Study confirms biogenic emissions result in no net carbon release A new study found that energy produced from forest biomass merely returns recently absorbed carbon to the atmosphere, and essentially results in no net release of carbon, provided overall forest inventories are stable or increasing. READ MORE SHARE
Producer enrollment begins in January for PFI Standards Program The American Lumber Standard Committee, the new accreditation body for the Pellet Fuels Institute's Standards Program, expects to begin the producer enrollment process for the program in January. READ MORE SHARE
Biomass Secure Power names torrefied pellet plant site Biomass Secure Power Inc. has named the location of its previously announced torrefied wood pellet plant, a 30-acre site at Cowichan Lake on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. READ MORE SHARE
SE conference kicks off on a high note: pellets "It's pretty obvious to see why pellets are in the Southeast," said Mike Williams, director of strategy and planning for The Westervelt Co., showing a wood resource map of the region to attendees of the Southeast Biomass Conference & Trade Show. READ MORE SHARE