Biomass Week - March 21, 2014

Corinth Wood Pellets takes on expansion project Corinth Wood Pellets in Corinth, Maine, is investing $7 million in a planned expansion project. Operating since 2007, the 70,000-ton-per-year plant was sold in December to the E.J. Carrier Inc., a trucking and forest products company, READ MORE SHARE
DTE Energy's northern California biomass plant begins operations DTE Energy Services Inc. has finished its construction project to convert a shuttered coal-fired power plant at the Port of Stockton to operate on biomass fuel. The plant, known as Stockton Biomass, began commercial operations on Feb. 21. READ MORE SHARE
	Anaergia, Grannus to develop biogas upgrading facility in Arizona Anaergia Inc. and its project partner Grannus LLC have been selected to enter negotiations with the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department in Arizona to design-build-finance-own-operate a large-scale biogas upgrading facility. READ MORE SHARE
EPA announces plan to improve RFS pathway petition process The U.S. EPA has published a notice to its website announcing that it is taking action to improve the petition process for new renewable fuel pathways under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) program. READ MORE SHARE
Green Investment Bank funds bioenergy projects The U.K. Green Investment Bank has announced its support for several bioenergy projects in recent weeks, including investments in a waste-fueled power plant and a project to install biomass-fired boilers. READ MORE SHARE
California funds wood chip-to-boiler, fire reduction efforts The Sierra Nevada Conservancy Governing Board has approved grant to support a project that will manufacture wood chip fuel for Plumas County public facility boilers. Construction on the project is scheduled to begin in June. READ MORE SHARE
KiOR files annual report, idles Columbus facility On March 17, KiOR Inc. filed its 2013 annual report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, reporting doubts about its ability to continue operations. The company also announced it has idled its Columbus, Miss., plant. READ MORE SHARE
Deinove highlights recent progress in financial results France-based Deinove has released its 2013 financial results, reporting progress with increased research and development efforts. The company highlighted efforts for its biofuel-focused Deinol program and its biochemical-focused Deinochem platform. READ MORE SHARE
USDA highlights $33 million in rural business investments A recently released USDA report tells the story of more than $33 million in investments to support rural businesses, infrastructure and housing in 2013. A new interactive website map also features funding information. READ MORE SHARE
E2 report highlights biofuel, bioenergy job creation Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) has published a new report on clean energy jobs, reporting that bioenergy and biofuel projects created thousands of jobs last year. READ MORE SHARE
New landfill gas-to-energy project under development in S.C. Lockhart Power Co. and Pacolet Milliken Enterprises Inc. have announced plans to develop a landfill gas-to-power renewable energy facility at the Republic Services Inc.'s Upstate Regional Landfill near Cross Anchor in Union County, S.C. READ MORE SHARE
EIA: Increase of wood in home heating most notable in Northeast Wood as a main heating source in homes has gained popularity in many areas of the country in recent years, but the increase is most notable in the Northeast. Nationwide, about 2.5 million households use wood as the main source of heat. READ MORE SHARE
Ethanol industry files to take LCFS fight to the Supreme Court Following the January decision by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to deny rehearing en banc in the litigation regarding California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, two ethanol trade associations are taking the fight to the U.S. Supreme Court. READ MORE SHARE
Dyadic reports revenue increase in 2013 financial results Dyadic International Inc. has released its 2013 financial results, reporting total revenue of $17.1 million, a 10 percent increase over 2012 revenue of $15.6 million. Net product related revenue increased by 25 percent, reaching $9.8 million. READ MORE SHARE
USDA program offers loans to farmers for biomass storage The USDA Farm Service Agency recently announced the expansion of its Farm Storage and Facility Loan program, which can provide low-interest funds to build or upgrade permanent facilities to store eligible commodities, including renewable biomass. READ MORE SHARE
Hawaiian biomass power and processing facility hit auction block Big Island Carbon LLC's biomass power plant and activated carbon facility in Hawaii are scheduled to be auctioned off by Tiger Remarketing Services and Aaron Equipment on April 4. Big Island Carbon filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in November 2012. READ MORE SHARE
Duke University report characterizes U.S. biogas potential A new report published by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University seeks to uncover under what conditions a substantial, decentralized domestic biogas market could develop in the United States by 2040. READ MORE SHARE
Valmet-supplied gasification plant inaugurated in Sweden The Valmet Corp.-supplied gasification plant at GoBiGas (Gothenburg Biomass Gasification Project) was inaugurated on March 12 in Gothenburg, Sweden. The plant will produce gas by gasifying forest residues and wood pellets. READ MORE SHARE
DNA analysis strategy aids in study of biofuel feedstocks Researchers from Michigan State University, U.S. DOE's Joint Genome Institute and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have published the largest soil DNA sequencing effort. The data was later applied to study biofuel feedstocks. READ MORE SHARE
N.D. farmers in 5 communities learn more about industrial beets Farmer and community meetings are underway this week in North Dakota laying the foundation for industrial beet production. Also known as energy beets, the varieties are bred for industrial sugars that can be converted to biobased fuels and chemicals. READ MORE SHARE