Pellet Mill Press - April 21, 2015

2015 Heating the Midwest conference commences in Minnesota Collocated with the 2015 International Biomass Conference & Expo being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Heating the Midwest conference began with a discussion on overcoming obstacles to speed up the deployment of biomass thermal solutions. READ MORE SHARE
Drax Biomass' first vessel sails from Port of Baton Rouge On April 7, the first vessel sailed away from Drax Biomass' Baton Rouge port facilities to the Port of Tyne located on the U.K.'s East Coast. The MV TBC Princess was loaded with pellets from Drax Biomass’ southern pellet mills for power generation. READ MORE SHARE
	Portucel breaks ground on pellet plant in South Carolina Portucel Sporcel Group has broke ground on its Colombo Energy pellet plant in Greenwood County, South Carolina. This estimated $110 million global investment represents an important development in the company's expanding bioenergy business. READ MORE SHARE
Northeast Wood Products begins retrofit of third pellet plant Northeast Wood Products has begun retrofitting its third pellet manufacturing plant, a Jasper, Tennessee, facility that will be capable of producing up to 125,000 tons of pellets annually. READ MORE SHARE
Timbervest provides insight on pellet production, export activity Timbervest LLC, an Atlanta-based company that manages timberland assets and investments, has been actively selling and purchasing timberland acreage in a variety of states. The company provides insight on pellet feedstock and export activity. READ MORE SHARE
Renew Biomass acquires MFA Oil Biomass assets Renew Biomass, a newly formed investor-owned company based in Springfield, Missouri, has announced the purchase of MFA Oil Biomass assets, effective April 15. MFA Oil Biomass was formed in 2010 between MFA Oil and Aloterra Energy. READ MORE SHARE
Gov. Shumlin announces investment in wood heat program Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin has announced new clean energy investments in Windham County totaling $1.9 million, with $1.6 million of that investment supporting the installation of wood pellet/chip heating systems for schools and municipal buildings. READ MORE SHARE
FutureMetrics: Convert to pellets before upgrading insulation FutureMetrics LLC recently published a white paper on why homeowners should switch from heating oil boilers to wood pellet boilers before upgrading the insulation in their home. READ MORE SHARE
U.S. Forest Service highlights accomplishments of CFLRP The U.S. Forest Service has published a five-year report on its Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program, noting the program has made 2.1 million green tons of biomass available for energy production. READ MORE SHARE
EIA updates bioenergy forecasts in short-term outlook The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the April edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, reporting total renewables used for electricity and heat generation are expected to grow by 3.4 percent this year. READ MORE SHARE
Vencor International to test hemp as bioenergy feedstock Vencor International Inc. recently announced it has entered into an agreement to begin testing industrial hemp as a feedstock used to manufacture various torrefied products, including bio-coal, a renewable energy product. READ MORE SHARE
ASABE: 2 ISO standards approved for solid biofuels The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers has announced the international community has approved two International Organization for Standardization standards for solid biofuels, including ISO 16993 and ISO 16994. READ MORE SHARE
Flourishing faster: How to make trees grow bigger and quicker Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a way to make trees grow bigger and faster, which could increase supplies of renewable resources and help trees cope with the effects of climate change. READ MORE SHARE
NexSteppe demonstrates biomass crops at commercial scale NexSteppe has announced that it sold more than 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) of its Palo Alto biomass sorghums in Brazil this past growing season, compared to just over 1,000 hectares in the previous year. READ MORE SHARE
SBP accepts SCS Global Services as applicant certification body SCS Global Services, a leader in third-party environmental and sustainability certification, announced that it has been accepted as an applicant certification body for the Sustainable Biomass Partnership. READ MORE SHARE
Deal forged on Minnesota bioeconomy legislation Biobased industry, agriculture, and environmental interests recently reached agreement on legislation in Minnesota that would create production-based incentives for renewable chemicals, advanced biofuels and biomass thermal energy. READ MORE SHARE
Renewable Heat NY projects support growth of biomass industry The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and Vincent's Heating and Fuel Service have announced the kickoff of 15 commercial and residential high-efficiency, low-emission wood pellet-fired heating projects. READ MORE SHARE
USDA awards funds to expand, accelerate wood energy markets On April 9, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the award of over $9 million to expand and accelerate wood energy and other wood product markets. The federal funds will leverage $22 million in investments from partners. READ MORE SHARE