Pellet Mill Press - October 21, 2014

Enviva to acquire Green Circle, Miss. project expected to proceed Enviva Development Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Enviva LP, recently announced an agreement to acquire Green Circle Energy Inc. The transaction is not currently expected to impact the development of a proposed pellet plant in Mississippi. READ MORE SHARE
EIA predicts higher natural gas, electricity prices this winter The U.S. EIA has released its short-term energy and winter fuels outlook, which predicts that, albeit paying higher prices for natural gas and electricity, homeowners will enjoy overall lower heating expenditures this winter. READ MORE SHARE
	Northeast Wood Products pellet capacity to near 350,000 tons In a span of about eight months, Northeast Wood Products LLC will have gone from no presence in the industry to possessing nearly 350,000 tons of U.S. wood pellet production capacity. READ MORE SHARE
DECC responds to criticism of Drax conversion, CfD contracts The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has spoken out to criticize an article published by the U.K.-based Daily Mail that questions the environmental benefits of the Drax Group biomass conversion and the sustainability of U.S. wood pellets. READ MORE SHARE
BlueFire announces EPC contract for Mississippi project On Oct. 8, BlueFire Renewables Inc. announced it has signed a master engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its proposed 19 MMgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Fulton, Mississippi. READ MORE SHARE
ISU researchers turn to robotics to study plant growth Iowa State University faculty members are developing a new facility that will utilize a specially designed robot to gather unprecedented amounts of data on the growth of plants under different environmental conditions. READ MORE SHARE
Fire reported at British Columbia pellet plant Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc.'s pellet plant in Burns Lake, British Columbia, experienced a fire on Oct. 9. The incident occurred in one of the facility's large drying units. READ MORE SHARE
Virginia releases new energy plan On Oct. 14, Gov. Terry McAuliffe officially unveiled the 2014 Virginia Energy Plan, which aims to provide a strategic vision for energy policy within the state. READ MORE SHARE
Research aims to help dairy farmers generate sustainable energy A new, collaborative grant at the University of Nevada, Reno will further research into biomass conversion by developing a cost-effective process for large-scale dairy farmers to generate energy from manure. READ MORE SHARE