Biomass Week - November 14, 2014

Rentech reports pellet plants' progress, earnings Rentech Inc. is seeing robust activity in its fiber business, particularly in Canada, CEO Hunt Ramsbottom reported in a Nov. 6 quarterly earnings conference call. The company's Atikokan and Wawa, Ontario, pellet plants are nearly complete. READ MORE SHARE
BioAmber's Sarnia facility nears mechanical completion BioAmber Inc. recently released financial results for the third quarter, reporting development of the company's biorefinery in Sarnia, Ontario, is progressing on time and on budget. The facility is expected to be mechanically complete in early 2015. READ MORE SHARE
	U.K. DECC annual energy statement addresses bioenergy U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change Secretary Edward Davey recently delivered his annual energy statement to Parliament. Bioenergy investments were among those discussed in the statement and addressed in a complimentary report. READ MORE SHARE
Montana DNRC awards Bridger Bowl a $20,000 grant for boiler The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has announced the distribution of $110,000 in grants to three wood energy projects. Troy Public Schools, Bridger Bowl Ski Area and SmartLam Technologies Group were the recipients. READ MORE SHARE
Gevo reports progress at ethanol, isobutanol plant Exciting progress is being made at Gevo Inc.'s Luverne, Minnesota, renewable fuel plant, and also within the company's recent commercial activities, Gevo CEO Pat Gruber reported during the company's third quarter conference call. READ MORE SHARE
EIA: More wood to be used in heating, power applications in 2015 The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the November issue of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, which includes updated forecasts for the use of wood and biomass fuels in U.S. heat and power production. READ MORE SHARE
Novus Pacific to build full-scale Oregon renewable energy plant Novus Pacific LLC will soon break ground on an approximately $20 million renewable energy plant at the Port of Morrow in Boardman, Oregon, upon finalizing its financial package. Once operational, the facility will process onion and potato waste. READ MORE SHARE
Biome provides Q3 update on bioplastics development U.K.-based bioplastics company Biome Technologies plc has released financial results for the first nine months of the year, reporting an 85 percent increase in revenues compared to the same period of 2013. READ MORE SHARE
UN report outlines growing biofuels role in developing economies Biofuels now account for 1 percent of global energy use, a new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development finds. The document provides a sweeping global overview of the development of liquid biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
REG discusses renewable diesel, chemicals during Q3 call Renewable Energy Group Inc. recently released financial results for the third quarter, reporting revenues of $384.3 million. In addition to producing biodiesel, the company has expanded its operations into renewable diesel and biobased chemicals. READ MORE SHARE
KiOR files for bankruptcy, plans to refocus on R&D KiOR Inc. has filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's idle biorefinery in Columbus, Mississippi, which is owned KiOR Columbus LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of KiOR, is not included in the filing. READ MORE SHARE
ABO expands carbon utilization campaign The Algae Biomass Organization has unveiled a new website as part of its campaign to persuade the U.S. EPA to recognize carbon capture and utilization technologies as approved emissions reduction strategies under its new power plant regulations. READ MORE SHARE
Ag groups advocate for the RFS in letter to Obama A group of agriculture organizations recently issued a letter to President Obama asking him to intervene in the U.S. EPA's proposed cuts to the 2014 renewable fuel standard volume obligations. The final 2014 rule is expected to be released soon. READ MORE SHARE
ElectraTherm Green Machine generates power from biomass in Italy ElectraTherm commissioned a Green Machine to generate emission-free electricity from biomass in Badia Prataglia, Italy. The facility operates a biomass boiler burning a mix of sawdust and ground up waste wood from a saw mill. READ MORE SHARE
Waste Management debuts new renewable natural gas facility Waste Management celebrated the opening of a unique renewable natural gas facility creating pipeline-ready natural gas from the landfill gas produced at its Milam Landfill in Fairmont City, Illinois. READ MORE SHARE
New versatile process efficiently converts biomass to liquid fuel Purdue University researchers have demonstrated a new process to convert all biomass into liquid fuel, and the method could make possible mobile processing plants. The new method is called fast-hydropyrolysis-hydrodeoxygenation. READ MORE SHARE
Xylome, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation reach deal on yeast Xylome Corp. has signed licensing and equity agreements with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation to develop and market unconventional yeasts with the power to transform tough biomass into sustainable fuels and chemicals. READ MORE SHARE
Digestion strategy in shipworms holds potential for biofuels An international research team led by Dan Distel, director of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center of New England Biolabs at Northeastern University, has discovered a novel digestive strategy in shipworms that could benefit biofuel development. READ MORE SHARE
Bioenergy helps Wisconsin health system gain energy independence Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin, recently achieved its first days of energy independence, becoming the first health system in the nation to attain the distinction. Bioenergy and biomass projects have aided in the achievement. READ MORE SHARE
Enerkem, AkzoNobel partner to explore development in Europe Enerkem Inc. recently announced it has signed an agreement with AkzoNobel to develop a project partnership to explore the development of waste-to-chemicals facilities in Europe. READ MORE SHARE
Perstorp steps up investment in bioplastics market Perstorp is stepping up its investment into the fast growing bioplastics market. World demand is expected to continue to grow at over 20 percent per year for the foreseeable future, said the company. The investments include a pilot plant in the U.K. READ MORE SHARE
German Pellets, ZG Raiffeisen Energie form joint venture The pellet producer German Pellets GmbH and ZG Raiffeisen Energie GmbH, a Baden, Germany-based trading and service company organized as a cooperative, have founded a joint venture for the sale of wood pellets. READ MORE SHARE
Air Liquide announces the acquisition of FordonsGas in Sweden Air Liquide announces the signature of an agreement for the acquisition of FordonsGas, a company that distributes compressed biogas (CBG) for the Swedish transportation market. FordonsGas owns and operates more than 40 CBG stations in Sweden. READ MORE SHARE
Ensyn initiates generation, sale of cellulosic RINs Ensyn Corp. has initiated the generation and sale of its first renewable identification numbers (RINs) under the renewable fuel standard (RFS). The company also announced its RINs have also been quality assurance plan certified. READ MORE SHARE
Community energy partnership qualified by OPA to submit proposals GIME Energya team made up of Envida Community Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Guelph Municipal Holdings Inc., and a number of equity partners, has been qualified by the Ontario Power Authority to submit proposals for renewable energy biomass projects. READ MORE SHARE