Biomass Week - July 19, 2013

Senate approves McCarthy's nomination to lead the EPA The U.S. Senate has voted to approve Gina McCarthy's nomination to lead the U.S. EPA by a vote of 59 to 40. President Obama nominated McCarthy as the EPA administrator in March. READ MORE SHARE
Court vacates EPA Deferral Rule for biogenic GHG emissions The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ruled in the case Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. EPA that EPA provided insufficient legal justification to defer greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation of biogenic emissions. READ MORE SHARE
	Biomass industry reacts to Tailoring Rule decision The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has thrown out the U.S. EPA's three-year deferment of biogenic emissions from the Greenhouse Gas Tailoring rule, just over one year before it expires. READ MORE SHARE
Dominion completes biomass conversion of Altavista plant Dominion Virginia Power placed its Altavista Power Station into commercial operation July 12 with renewable biomass as its fuel, the first of three stations to be converted from coal to biomass. The conversion plan was originally announced in 2011. READ MORE SHARE
Court rules to uphold Calif. LCFS, but requires corrective action California's Fifth District Court of Appeal issued its opinion in the lawsuit filed by Poet LLC against the California Air Resources Board. The court is upholding the low carbon fuel standard, but requires CARB to correct implementation errors. READ MORE SHARE
Mixed views of RFS shared at policy briefing A recent briefing on the renewable fuel standard evoked a variety of different opinions from members of the advanced biofuel and environmental community, with the consensus being that the industry needs consistency from the U.S. EPA and Congress. READ MORE SHARE
Chip Energy breaks ground on prototype pellet plant Goodfield, Ill.-based Chip Energy broke ground on a 100-ton-per-day biomass recycling and pelletizing plant that can condense a variety of feedstock sources. The plant configuration is designed to serve the power and cellulosic biofuels industries. READ MORE SHARE
Conn. DEEP issues RFP for renewable energy The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has released a request for proposals for long-term energy contracts from solar, wind, biomass and other renewables classified as Class I under the state's renewable portfolio standard. READ MORE SHARE
GIB funds whisky distillery's oil-to-wood pellet switch Tomatin Distillery, a producer and blender of Scotch whisky located near Inverness, Scotland, is switching out its oil-fired boiler with a wood pellet boiler system that will replace 80 percent of its current heat load. READ MORE SHARE
GAIN report highlights Canadian pellet industry An annual biofuels report recently filed with the USDA Foreign Agriculture Service Global Agricultural Information Network provides an overview of the rapidly expanding Canadian pellet industry, noting the nation was home 42 pellet plants in 2012. READ MORE SHARE
UK DECC publishes tariff levels for residential RHI program The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has published tariff levels for the version of the Renewable Heat Incentive program aimed at households. A similar program has been operational in the U.K.'s non-domestic sector since November 2011. READ MORE SHARE
Report explains role of biomass in theoretical zero-carbon future A report published by the Centre for Alternative Technology asserts that the U.K. can achieve a net zero carbon emissions level by leveraging existing technology. The report describes a scenario under which this benchmark is achieved by 2030. READ MORE SHARE
UW Oshkosh, partners break ground on AD project Partners recently broke ground on the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh's next and largest biodigester, a biogas plant that will include a public education center at Rosendale Dairy, the state's largest dairy farm. READ MORE SHARE
Ceres issues Q3 financial results, Brazilian update Ceres Inc. has announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2013, reporting revenues of $1.4 million. The company also provided an update on its Brazil operations, including achievements in the fuels and power sectors. READ MORE SHARE
Two biogas projects under development in Middle East Two biogas projects have recently been announced in the Middle East; a 637 kW landfill gas project in Naameh, Lebanon, near Beirut, and an anaerobic digestion facility in Pakistan that will feature a power production capacity of up to 30 MW. READ MORE SHARE
Independent power projects contribute to UK renewable generation A report published by U.K.-based energy purchaser SmartestEnergy highlights the contribution commercial-scale independent renewable energy projects are making to the region's energy industry, including biomass and biogas projects. READ MORE SHARE
Blue Sphere receives financing commitment for N.C. biogas project Blue Sphere Corp. has announced that its Charlotte, N.C., project, a 5.2 MW organics-to-energy anaerobic digester, has received a signed commitment letter from Caterpillar Financial Services Corp. to provide $17.785 million in debt financing. READ MORE SHARE
Sapphire Energy and Linde Group expand partnership Sapphire Energy Inc. and The Linde Group have announced they will expand their existing partnership to commercialize hydrothermal treatment conversion technology used upgrade algae biomass into crude oil. The expansion spans a minimum of five years. READ MORE SHARE