Biomass Week - April 26, 2013

German Pellets plans second giant wood pellet plant in U.S. Just as it is readying to opening a 500,000-metric ton wood pellet production facility in Woodville, Texas, German Pellets announced that it plans to build an additional 1 million-metric ton plant in Louisiana. READ MORE SHARE
4 plants receive $17.7 million from DOE for military fuels The U.S. DOE announced Frontline Bioenergy LLC, Cobalt Technologies Inc., Mercurius Biorefining LLC and BioProcess Algae LLC will receive $17.7 million with the aim of producing drop-in biofuels that meet military specifications. READ MORE SHARE
	USDA, dairy producers renew agreement to reduce GHGs Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has renewed a historic agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate the adoption of innovative waste-to-energy projects and energy efficiency improvements on U.S. dairy farms. READ MORE SHARE
Upper Austria using biomass to help reach 2030 energy target Christiane Egger, deputy manager of the Upper Austrian Renewable Energy Agency, explained how the region is utilizing renewable resources to meet 100 percent of its heat and energy needs by 2030 at the 2nd annual Heating the Midwest Conference. READ MORE SHARE
ASABE: New ISO projects reflect growth in solid biofuel industry Work on international standards for solid biofuels continues to expand, with new projects for thermally treated solid biofuels and safe handling of pelletized biofuels the latest to be introduced at the International Organization for Standardization. READ MORE SHARE
Pew releases clean energy investment report The Pew Charitable Trusts has published the 2012 edition of its "Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race?" report. The analysis offers an update of Pew's reports tracking clean energy investments over the past nine years. READ MORE SHARE
Chemists use oxygen to convert lignin to into chemical feedstocks University of Wisconsin-Madison chemists have identified an approach to use oxygen gas to convert lignin, a byproduct of biofuel production, into a form that could allow it to replace fossil fuels as a source of chemical feedstocks. READ MORE SHARE
Toray produces PBT using Genomatica's biobased BDO Toray Industries Inc. has jointly announced with Genomatica Inc.that it has successfully made a partially bio-based PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) using 1,4-butanediol (BDO) made with Genomatica's bio-based process technology. READ MORE SHARE
Researchers develop E. coli that produces diesel It sounds like science fiction but a team from the University of Exeter, with support from Shell, has developed a method to make bacteria produce diesel on demand. READ MORE SHARE
EIA releases biomass power statistics for January The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the April issue of its Monthly Energy Review, reporting net electricity generation for wood biomass and waste biomass in January. READ MORE SHARE
Minn. bill would allow other biofuels to meet ethanol mandate Pending legislation in Minnesota could alter the state's ethanol mandate, allowing for the use biofuels under than ethanol to meet the current 10 percent renewable content requirement for gasoline. The measure is included in H.F. 976. READ MORE SHARE
Graham Construction to design, build UK pellet handling facility Graham Construction has been appointed to undertake the design and construction of a major new facility for importing, storing, and onward transfer of renewable fuels (wood pellets) at Associated British Ports' Port of Immingham. READ MORE SHARE
Viaspace releases update of 7 MW AD project in St. Croix Viaspace Inc. has provided an update on the Tibbar Energy 7 MW anaerobic digestion power plant project on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, noting that Tibbar is continuing to plant its Giant King Grass nurseries. READ MORE SHARE
Joule announces BNEF award, and progress with gasoline, jet fuel On April 23 Joule Unlimited announced it was selected as a 2013 Bloomberg New Energy Pioneer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The company also recently announced progress with its Sunflow-G and Sunflow-J processes. READ MORE SHARE
Drax releases biomass financing update Drax Group plc recently announced that it has agreed to a GBP 75 million ($114.83 million) amortizing loan facility maturing in June 2018 with Friends Life, underpinned by a guarantee from HM Treasury. READ MORE SHARE
Report: biomass, CCS could reduce UK carbon emissions A report by Carbon Connect says that biomass power stations and carbon capture and storage could play an important role in replacing the electric capacity that is shut down in the U.K lieu of stricter pollution laws. READ MORE SHARE
Comment period on RIN QAP closes, industry weighs in The comment period of the U.S. EPA's proposed rules for a voluntary renewable identification number (RIN) integrity program closed on April 18. The proposed rule creates a structured process for buyers of RINs to verify their validity. READ MORE SHARE
National algae testbed leaders assemble for kickoff meeting Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP3) members from across the nation descended upon the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus April 15-18 to discuss strategies for advancing research and development of algae-based technologies. READ MORE SHARE
Helius CoRDe CHP plant opens in Scotland, earns RO accreditation Helius Energy plc has announced that the Helius CoRDe Ltd. in Rothes, Scotland, is being accredited as a combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plant under the Renewables Obligation. READ MORE SHARE
ICE to launch D4, D5, D6 RIN futures contracts IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), an operator of global markets and clearing house, has announced the introduction of new North American environmental futures contracts for three categories of renewable energy numbers (RINs), including D4, D5 and D6. READ MORE SHARE