Biomass Week - July 12, 2013

House passes Farm Bill, but hurdles remain The U.S. House of Representatives passed a stripped down of the Farm Bill on July 11. Members of Congress voted 216-208 to approve the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, or H.R. 2642. READ MORE SHARE
2013 National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo agenda released The 2013 National Advanced Biofuels Conference & Expo, taking place September 10-12, 2013, in Omaha, Neb., announced its preliminary agenda this week. The event features three program tracks and nearly 70 advanced biofuel presentations. READ MORE SHARE
	Green Circle Bio Energy to locate pellet plant in Miss. Officials from Green Circle Bio Energy have announced the company is locating an energy wood pellet manufacturing facility in the George County Industrial Park. The 500,000 ton per facility is expected to be operational in 2015. READ MORE SHARE
Sundrop Fuels selects contractor for inaugural plant Sundrop Fuels Inc. announced that it has selected IHI E&C International Corporation, a U.S. subsidiary of Tokyo-based IHI Corporation, as contractor of choice for its inaugural facility near Alexandria, La. READ MORE SHARE
Biomass-fired Tilbury Power Station to close RWE npower has announced it is halting work on its 750 MW biomass-fueled Tilbury Power Station while options on project feasibility are assessed and reviewed. According to information released by the company, the facility will close on Oct. 31. READ MORE SHARE
EU's Horizon 2020 program invests in biobased industries The European Commission and members of European industry will invest more than EUR 22 billion ($28.70 billion) over the next seven years under the Horizon 2020 research initiative. A portion of that investment will support biobased innovations. READ MORE SHARE
Federal biomass research committee appoints new co-chair The Biomass Research and Development Initiative Technical Advisory Committee appointed Kevin Kephart as the new co-chair. He will assist the committee in the research, development and production standards of biomass-derived fuels and materials. READ MORE SHARE
Legislation introduced to establish PTC for biochemicals Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., recently introduced legislation that aims to allow renewable chemical producers access to production tax credits. The bill, S. 1267, was introduced June 27 and referred to the Committee on Finance. READ MORE SHARE
Waste Management to expand Iowa biogas project Waste Management of Des Moines, Iowa, announced it is expanding its landfill biogas-to-electricity facility at Metro Waste Authority in Polk County. The expansion, which will include the installation of up to four generators, will begin in October. READ MORE SHARE
BioNitrogen acquires land, signs pre-construction contract BioNitrogen Corp. has announced an agreement to acquire approximately 245 acres of land in Pointe Coupe Parish, La., near a port for $2 million. The company has also selected the CCC Group Inc. to build its first plant in Hardee County, Fla. READ MORE SHARE
Report: ILUC penalties under the RED will harm developing nations A new report published by World Growth argues that the E.U.'s proposal regarding indirect land use change (ILUC) carbon emissions under the Renewable Energy Directive represents a futile effort to curb productive land use in Asia. READ MORE SHARE
Energos secures planning permission for CHP project in Ireland Planning permission for an 80,000 metric ton Energos clean energy recovery from waste facility in Lisburn, Northern Ireland, has been granted by Environment Minister of Northern Ireland Alex Attwood. READ MORE SHARE
Carbo Analytics wins DOE grant for sugar analysis system Carbo Analytics, a developer of sugar analysis systems, has announced that it has been awarded a $150,000 U.S. DOE grant under the Small Business Innovation Research program for the development of a biofuels sugar analysis system. READ MORE SHARE
Lux Research quarterly top-10 list includes 2 biorefining groups Lux Research recently released its top-10 list of innovative companies profiled during the second quarter of 2013. The list includes two biorefining companies, Ascenix BioTechnologies and AlterNRG Corp. READ MORE SHARE
Vecoplan sponsors car #23 at NASCAR 'Feed the Children 300' Vecoplan LLC was the proud sponsor of car #23 at the NASCAR Nationwide "Feed the Children 300" on June 28 at Kentucky Speedway. The #23 Vecoplan Ford Mustang was fielded by Rick Ware Racing and driven by Harrison Rhodes. READ MORE SHARE
Intratec report evaluates ethanol-to-ethylene economics A new report takes a close look at the potential for ethylene production from ethanol. Ethylene is the most produced organic chemical in the world, used in the production of multiple polymers and chemicals. READ MORE SHARE
ZooShare Biogas Co-op receives FIT contract offer ZooShare Biogas Co-operative Inc. announced that it has received a feed-in tariff (FIT) contract offer from the Ontario Power Authority for its 500-kW biogas plant, to be built at the Toronto Zoo in 2014. READ MORE SHARE
White paper highlights economic benefits of biomass thermal bill A recent white paper published by FutureMetrics and prepared by William Strauss, chief economist of the Biomass Thermal Energy Council, investigates the positive economic impacts of the Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2013. READ MORE SHARE
WIST, biotech company receive research grant Promising biofuels research at C5.6 Technologies, a Wisconsin biotech company, and the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is getting a boost from a $224,292 National Science Foundation grant. The research focuses on isoprene production. READ MORE SHARE
EEA report calls for more efficient biomass production, use The European Environment Agency has published a report that says bioenergy production should comply with E.U. objectives to use resources more efficiently. The report contains three future scenarios for bioenergy development in Europe. READ MORE SHARE
New ISU production facility delivers made-to-order algae A new algae production facility at Iowa State University contains a novel biofilm-based cultivation system. The facility, which was built inside a greenhouse on the BioCentury Research Farm in rural Boone, went online in January. READ MORE SHARE