Biomass Week - February 7, 2014

Obama signs Farm Bill, announces Made in Rural America initiative President Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill into law during a Feb. 7 ceremony at Michigan State University. During his speech, Obama also announced the launch of a new "Made in Rural America" export and investment initiative. READ MORE SHARE
Wood pellets a hot commodity across U.S. The wallets of homeowners across the nation using propane or heating oil as a fuel source have likely taken a big hit this winter, due to unusually cold temperatures, compliments of the polar vortex, and frequent storms. READ MORE SHARE
	EPA opens comment period on residential wood heater proposal The U.S. EPA published its proposed rule to establish performance standards for new residential wood heaters, new residential hydronic heaters, and other heating appliances in the Federal Register, officially opening the 91-day public comment period. READ MORE SHARE
2014 International Biomass Conference & Expo to address Farm Bill The passage of the Farm Bill will positively impact the biomass industry and help to spur on additional development of renewable energy, according to several leading biomass companies and organizations that praised the long-awaited bill. READ MORE SHARE
Greenwood Resources earns RSB, FSC certifications The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials has announced that Greenwood Tree Farm Fund LP has become the first short rotation forest plantation worldwide to earn certification under the RSB. READ MORE SHARE
Cropping systems can produce food, fuel, and other benefits Cropping systems that are profitable for farmers and balance societal needs for food, feed, fuel, energy and clean air and water are the focus and challenge of Iowa State University's Landscape Biomass Project. READ MORE SHARE
Versalis, Elevance partner to scale a new metathesis technology Versalis and Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc. have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a strategic partnership to jointly develop and scale a new metathesis technology to produce biochemicals from vegetable oils. READ MORE SHARE
DOE offers $12 million to fund biobased carbon fiber research The U.S. DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office has opened a $12 million funding opportunity for renewable carbon fibers. The aim is to develop a cost-competitive pathway to produce high-performance biobased carbon fiber. READ MORE SHARE
Report provides estimates of bioenergy capacity, investments The 2014 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, produced for the Business Council for Sustainable Energy by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, provides estimates of new bioenergy production capacity and recent project investments. READ MORE SHARE
ABO updates standards for measuring algae industry operations The Algae Biomass Organization announced the publication of "Industrial Algae Measurements, Version 6.0" (IAM 6.0), a significant update to the common standards established by the organization for measuring and comparing algae industry operations. READ MORE SHARE
Leaf Energy announces preliminary results of pilot-scale trial Leaf Energy Ltd. recently announced it has received a preliminary report from Andritz AG outlining the results of a pilot-scale trial of Leaf Energy's Glycell Process, a glycerol pretreatment process, at the Andritz pilot plant in Springfield, Ohio. READ MORE SHARE
Elevance selects URS to provide EPC services for Miss. plant Elevance Renewable Sciences Inc. has selected URS Corp. to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for its biorefinery in Natchez, Miss. URS will convert Elevance's existing biodiesel plant into a new biorefinery. READ MORE SHARE
OSU receives grant to investigate redcedar, biofuels and water Eastern redcedar trees are extremely invasive, are an incredible fire danger, and large, open-grown trees can use upwards of 42 gallons of water a day during the summer. However, removed invasive trees could serve as a biofuel feestock. READ MORE SHARE
Rabobank predicts increased European bioplastic production The Netherlands-based Rabobank recently published a report that indicates European demand for bioplastics could require 1.2 million metric tons of sugar by 2020, up from 110,000 metric tons last year. READ MORE SHARE
Senate approves Farm Bill conference report On Feb. 4, the U.S. Senate approved the conference report for the 2014 Farm Bill by a vote of 67 to 32. The vote was the final legislative action needed before President Obama can sign the legislation into law. READ MORE SHARE
EPA names landfill gas projects of the year Through its Landfill Methane Outreach Program, the U.S. EPA has recognized three U.S. landfill gas-to-energy projects as being exceptional projects of 2013. The projects are located in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Georgia. READ MORE SHARE
Constellation to develop biogas cogeneration plant in California Constellation Energy Resources LLC has announced that it has signed an agreement with the city of Los Angeles to design, build and operate a 27-megawatt (MW) renewable energy power plant at L.A. Sanitation's Hyperion Treatment Plant. READ MORE SHARE
REACT Energy gains funding for phase 2 of Newry project U.K.-based REACT Energy plc, a company formerly known as Kedco plc, has announced approval from Ulster Bank Ireland Ltd. for the funding of the second phase of its joint venture biomass gasification project located in Newry, Northern Ireland. READ MORE SHARE
UC Davis researchers develop new technique for drop-in biofuels Gasoline-like fuels can be made from cellulosic materials such as farm and forestry waste using a new process invented by chemists at the University of California, Davis. The feedstock for the new process is levulinic acid. READ MORE SHARE