Biomass Week - May 24, 2013

Sen. King introduces biomass heating bill Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, has introduced a bill that would provide incentives to install residential, commercial and industrial biomass heating systems by modifying renewable energy provisions of the current tax code. READ MORE SHARE
EPA proposal allows landfill gas to generate RINs under RFS The U.S. EPA has released a notice of proposed rulemaking that would allow renewable diesel, renewable naphtha, and renewable electricity used in electric vehicles produced from landfill gas to generate cellulosic or advanced biofuel RINs. READ MORE SHARE
	Enviva opens 500,000-metric ton pellet plant in N.C. Along with North Carolina Gov. Patrick McCrory and several other local and state officials, on May 21, wood pellet manufacturer Enviva LP celebrated the official opening of its recently completed production facility. READ MORE SHARE
Xcel Energy seeks biomass gasification demonstration facility Xcel Energy filed May 20 with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission for approval of a demonstration project to solicit electricity production from gasification of forest biomass. Xcel would seek bids for a PPA of up to 2 MW of generation. READ MORE SHARE
DOE to aid two new tribal biomass projects The U.S. DOE has announced it will provide technical assistance to five new tribal clean energy projects through its Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team Program, two of which involve biomass energy. READ MORE SHARE
Biomass harvest companies Pacific Ag Solutions, PowerStock merge Sister companies Pacific Ag Solutions and Pacific PowerStock, both innovators in agricultural supply chain logistics, have merged to become PacificAg, the the largest agricultural residue and hay harvesting business in the U.S. READ MORE SHARE
New coalition presses for thermal in Mass. state renewable policy A coalition of organizations focused on renewable heating technologies has formed to press for support from the Massachusetts Legislature in 2013. READ MORE SHARE
Advanced biofuels RIN futures trading starts off briskly CME Group is pleased with the interest generated in its new renewable identification numbers (RINs) futures contracts. The commodities trading exchange reported that 60 lots of D5 advanced biofuels RINs were traded earlier this week. READ MORE SHARE
USDA announces payments to pellet, biogas producers The USDA has announced $14 million in payments to 162 advanced biofuel producers in 38 states under the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels. The program awards payments to eligible producers based on the amount of advanced biofuel produced. READ MORE SHARE
Navy Captain publishes report disputing military biofuel use A report disputing the promise of liquid biofuels to the U.S. military has been published in the spring issue of Strategic Studies Quarterly, the strategic journal of the U.S. Air Force. The issue also includes rebuttals by the U.S. DOE and U.S. DOD. READ MORE SHARE
Airbus, Air Canada partner with BioFuelNet Canada on biojet fuel BioFuelNet Canada has entered an agreement with Airbus and Air Canada to evaluate biomass-derived biojet fuels. BioFuelNet's researchers will assess agricultural, forestry and municipal solid waste streams along with conversion processes. READ MORE SHARE
SGI announces new algae research agreement with ExxonMobil Synthetic Genomics Inc., a privately held company dedicated to developing genomic-driven solutions to address global challenges, has announced a new co-funded research agreement with ExxonMobil to develop algae biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
ECN, Royal Dahlman, sign gasification technology licence deal A gasification technology developed by the Energy Research Center of the Netherlands will be applied on a global scale in the new few years, as ECN has signed a license agreement with Dutch company Royal Dahlman. READ MORE SHARE
Green Investment Bank to fund small-scale biomass boilers Equitix-managed fund, Energy Saving Investments, in which the UK Green Investment Bank is a cornerstone investor, is investing ($7.4 million) to replace inefficient heating systems in public and private community facilities with biomass boilers READ MORE SHARE
IDB gives $3 million to up Haiti's power capacity with renewables The Inter-American Development Bank announced it is supporting a $3 million technical cooperation project to help the Haitian government test a variety of renewable energy solutions, including biomass. READ MORE SHARE
BioAmber announces closing of IPO BioAmber Inc. has announced the closing of its initial public offering (IPO) of 8 million units, each consisting of one share of common stock and one warrant to purchase half of one share of common stock at $10 per unit. READ MORE SHARE