Biomass Week - April 18, 2014

EC adopts new guidelines on renewable energy, biofuel support The European Commission recently announced it has adopted new rules on public support for renewable energy projects, including a move to market-based support. A U.K.-based trade association called the guidelines a "huge leap into the unknown." READ MORE SHARE
Ontario's Thunder Bay burns last coal, seeks biomass fuel supply Officially earning the province a coal-free status several months prior to its goal of the end of 2014, Ontario Power Generation's Thunder Bay Generating Station has burned its last supply of coal, the utility and the Ontario government reported. READ MORE SHARE
	EPA opens public comment period on rule to amend NHSM regulation The U.S. EPA has published its proposed rule to amend its Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials regulation in the Federal Register, officially opening a 60-day comment period. The proposal classifies wood fuel from construction and demolition debris. READ MORE SHARE
Group launches New Hampshire Wood Energy Council A group of public sector and private business have partnered up to launch the New Hampshire Wood Energy Council, a nonprofit partnership that the group said will promote heating commercial and institutional buildings in New Hampshire with wood. READ MORE SHARE
NASA to test alternative fuels with German, Canadian partners NASA has signed separate agreements with the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and the National Research Council of Canada to conduct a series of joint flight tests to study the atmospheric effects of emissions from jet engines burning alternative fuels. READ MORE SHARE
EPA reports cellulosic RINs were generated in March The U.S. EPA has published renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for March, reporting that nearly 1.37 billion RINs were generated during the month across all five biofuel categories. READ MORE SHARE
Forest thinning in Ariz. could benefit environment, economy A new report finds that forest thinning could improve the health of Arizona's forests while strengthening rural economies. Small diameter wood harvested as part of thinning activities could be used for many purposes, including bioenergy production. READ MORE SHARE
CSR partners to convert railroad ties into biofuel The Coalition for Sustainable Rail has announced that it is initiating research on conversion of used railroad ties into an advanced biofuel via torrefaction. This research is funded through a grant from the Indiana Rail Road. READ MORE SHARE
Phoenix Energy to build California biomass gasification plant Phoenix Energy has signed agreements to build and operate a biomass gasification plant near Lake Tahoe, Calif. The 2-MW plant will utilize forest biomass from Placer County's fire threat reduction activities to make electricity, heat and biochar. READ MORE SHARE
BC Bioenergy Network funds pilot torrefaction project BC Bioenergy Network, a provincially-funded leader supporting the growing bioenergy sector in British Columbia, announced its intention to fund $1 million to Diacarbon Energy Inc. to demonstrate its torrefaction bioreactor technology. READ MORE SHARE
U.S. DOE announces $10 million in advanced biofuel funding The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy announced a $10 million funding opportunity for the development, improvement and demonstration of biomass technologies. READ MORE SHARE
British Airways, Solena announce location for biojet project Solena Fuels in partnership with British Airways has committed to building the world's first facility to convert landfill waste into jet fuel. The project will be built at the Thames Enterprise Park in Thurrock, Essex. READ MORE SHARE
Economics of using mesquite for power reliant on outside factors Using mesquite biomass for electricity generation may become economically feasible if ecological and agricultural factors are considered, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research paper being published in the BioEnergy Research journal. READ MORE SHARE
Viridis Energy reports progress in 2013 financial results Canadian pellet producer Viridis Energy Inc. has released its 2013 financial results, reporting revenues of $13.9 million, a 46 percent increase over the prior year. The company attributed the increase to improved market dynamics and other factors. READ MORE SHARE
Kentucky funds landfill gas-to-energy project Kentucky Gov. Beshear has announced funding to help create an environmentally-friendly methane gas recovery system in the city of Glasgow, Ky., that will harness the gas emitted from the Glasgow Regional Landfill and turn it into electricity. READ MORE SHARE
IPCC: Bioenergy to play significant role in carbon mitigation Bioenergy plays a big role in the multiple mitigation scenarios examined in the AR5 report from the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and is expected to play a role in the future. READ MORE SHARE
Washington DNR to hold mobile pyrolysis demo The Washington State Department of Natural Resources is sponsoring a mobile pyrolysis technology demonstration featuring three vendors on May 8 that will include conversion of wood chips into bio-oil, bio-char and syngas. READ MORE SHARE
Scale-model aircraft takes flight with fuel from the sea concept Navy researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory demonstrate proof-of-concept of novel NRL technologies developed for the recovery of carbon dioxide and hydrogen from seawater and conversion to a liquid hydrocarbon fuel. READ MORE SHARE
GE engines power landfill gas-to-energy project in Latin America GE's Distributed Power business has announced that commissioning for three of its Jenbacher gas engines is expected to take place this month at Estre Ambiental's landfill in Guatapara City, Sao Paulo, Brazil. READ MORE SHARE
Moniz testifies on DOE FY 2015 budget request Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz recently addressed U.S. DOE's fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget request at hearings held by the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the House Energy and Commerce Committee. READ MORE SHARE
Covanta announces partnership with Massachusetts municipalities Covanta Energy Corp., a world leader in sustainable waste management and renewable energy, has announced a new partnership with nine Western Massachusetts municipalities for bundled sustainable waste management services. READ MORE SHARE