Pellet Mill Monthly - May 6, 2014

Rentech acquires New England Wood Pellet Rentech Inc. has acquired all three of New England Wood Pellet's facilities, a $34.5 million investment that adds 240,000 tons to Rentech's annual pellet output. The facilities are located in Jaffrey, N.H., Schuyler, N.Y., and Deposit, N.Y. READ MORE SHARE
UK DECC opens sustainability registration for biomass fuel Starting April 30, woodfuel suppliers will be able to register their fuels as sustainable by applying to the Biomass Suppliers List. This is a major milestone in ensuring biomass supported under the Renewable Heat Incentive. READ MORE SHARE
	Pinnacle Renewable begins development on 7th pellet mill in B.C. Pinnacle Renewable Energy has begun development of its seventh pellet mill facility in British Columbia, which when completed will bring the pellet producer's total capacity up to 1.5 million metric tons. READ MORE SHARE
Forest Service opens wood-to-energy funding opportunities The U.S. Forest has announced it is seeking proposals for two separate wood-to-energy funding opportunities, including the Hazardous Fuels Wood-to-Energy (W2E) Grant program and the Statewide Wood Energy Team cooperative agreement program. READ MORE SHARE
DECC finalizes early CfDs, Drax challenges subsidy change The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change is offering investment contracts to eight renewable energy project, including three biomass projects. The government cut subsidy to one of two Drax projects, a decision that Drax is challenging. READ MORE SHARE
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
All Things Biomass Members of all sectors of the biomass industry connected at the 2014 International Biomass Conference & Expo. READ MORE SHARE
Biomass heating programs, incentives featured at conference Three biomass heating programs were showcased during an evening session at 2014 Heating the Midwest with Renewable Biomass Conference and Expo in Green Bay, Wis. READ MORE SHARE
Winter propane crisis frames Midwest biomass heating opportunity The opportunities of Midwest biomass heating in a post-propane crises market was the topic of discussion during the opening session of the 2014 Heating the Midwest with Renewable Biomass Conference and Expo in Green Bay, Wis. READ MORE SHARE
Emunite to pelletize Viaspace Giant King Grass in Guyana On April 28, Viaspace Inc. announced a contract with Emunite Energy Solutions Inc. to provide Giant King Grass for a proposed pellet mill. The company has also announced progress with Giant King Grass production in California. READ MORE SHARE
Maintaining the Momentum Maine Fuel Pellet Alliance Executive Director Bill Bell talks about the upcoming challenges the Northeast pellet industry faces. READ MORE SHARE
From Fluff to Fuel Tennessee-based WastAway engineers pellets from MSW that is treated with steam and pressure. READ MORE SHARE
Viridis Energy lands grant, new equipment to draw fuel suppliers The Nova Scotia government has awarded Viridis Energy with a CA$517,500 ($469,000) grant to purchase new equipment at the company's pellet manufacturing subsidiary, Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company Ltd., in Middle Musquoboit, Nova Scotia. READ MORE SHARE
New ISO wood pellet standards published; safety effort begins The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards for solid biomass fuels will be available for purchase in the next week in the ISO store. READ MORE SHARE
Thermogen loan guarantee reduced, developers still committed The Finance Authority of Maine has approved a $16 million taxable bond for Thermogen's black pellet project in Millinocket, Maine, reducing its initial commitment, approved in October, by $9 million. READ MORE SHARE
North American wood pellet exports to Europe double in 2 years Wood pellet exports from North America to Europe have doubled in two years to reach 4.7 million tons in 2013 with the U.S. South accounting for 63 percent of the volume, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review. READ MORE SHARE
Siegenthaler, BTEC, and HeatSpring launch biomass design course Hydronics expert John Siegenthaler, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council and HeatSpring have teamed up to launch a 10-week online course, titled "Hydronic-Based Biomass Design." READ MORE SHARE
DOE announces draft solicitation for Section 1703 loan guarantees The U.S. DOE has announced its intent to offer up to $4 billion in Section 1703 loan guarantees to support a wide variety of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Public comments are being accepted on the scope of the final solicitation. 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
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
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
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
UK DECC officially launches domestic RHI A new and innovative U.K. government scheme launched April 9 will pay people for the green heat they generate for their homes. The domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is the world's first long-term financial support program for renewable heat. READ MORE SHARE
EPA lists efficiencies of qualified outdoor boilers On April 8, the EPA posted efficiencies for outdoor wood and pellet boilers, also known as hydronic heaters. Efficiencies ranged from 39 percent to 78 percent as measured using higher heating value. READ MORE SHARE
Pellet industry must become 'common and ordinary; embrace oil' Though the biomass thermal industry is known for its progressive and forward-thinking nature, Les Otten, president of Maine Energy Systems, insists that in order to achieve its goals, the sector needs to embrace "disruptive thinking and technology." READ MORE SHARE
Northeast Biomass Heating Expo hosts biomass boiler bus tour The Northeast Biomass Heating Expo being held in Portland, Maine, April 9-11, kicked off by taking a bus full of tour goers on a biomass boiler bus tour. READ MORE SHARE
SBP seeks comments on 5 biomass standards The Sustainable Biomass Partnership has opened a comment period on five draft biomass standards that make up its Biomass Assurance Framework. Public comments on the draft standards will be accepted through April 25. READ MORE SHARE
Enginuity moves to Mexico, Mo., to scale up eCARB process Enginuity Worldwide LLC has moved its research and development activities into the Missouri Plant Science Center in Mexico, Mo., in order to produce larger quantities of its biomass-based engineered pellets for large-scale testing. READ MORE SHARE
Associations release renewable energy outlook paper Multiple renewable energy trade association have teamed up to produce a single report that contains current market reviews, outlooks and policy recommendations for each respective sector, including biomass power, biomass thermal, and waste-to-energy. READ MORE SHARE
Energex recovers quickly after fire After experiencing a fire in its Mifflintown, Pa., office and dry receiving facilities on March 29, Energex Pellet Fuel Inc.'s operation was back in full swing within two days. Old wiring appears to be the cause of the incident. READ MORE SHARE
Senate committee approves tax credit extension package The Senate Finance Committee approved tax credit extension package on April 3 that includes several biofuel and bioenergy provisions. The committee voted down an amendment that aimed to strip biofuel and renewable energy credits from the bill. READ MORE SHARE