Biomass Week - June 26, 2015

RFS supporters testify at EPA hearing, participate in rally On June 25, the U.S. EPA held a hearing to address its proposed rule for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 renewable fuels standard (RFS) in Kansas City, Kansas. More than 250 people were scheduled to testify at the event. READ MORE SHARE
Oregon declares biomass carbon neutral After a House vote of 44-9, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has signed a bill that exempts biomass-derived carbon dioxide emissions from regulation under certain air pollution laws. READ MORE SHARE
	Bill aims to extend master limited partnerships to renewables U.S. Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Reps. Ted Poe, R-Texas, and Mike Thompson, D-Calif., have announced the reintroduction of the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act, which aims to level the playing field for renewables. READ MORE SHARE
Enviva inflates first pellet storage dome at North Carolina port Last week Enviva Partners LP inflated the first of two 170-foot wood pellet storage domes located on North Carolina State Ports’ property in Wilmington for shipment to Europe. Now that the outer shell is up, work has begun inside the dome. READ MORE SHARE
EPA: More than 9.5 million cellulosic RINs generated in May The U.S. EPA has released renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for May, reporting that nearly 1.5 billion RINs were generated during the month, including more than 9.51 million cellulosic RINs. READ MORE SHARE
Canada funds 2 projects to develop new landfill gas technology In mid-June, the Canadian government announced funding for two biogas projects. One award will support the development of a technology that converts landfill gas into renewable liquefied natural gas. The other supports purification of landfill gas. READ MORE SHARE
New U.K. port facility to provide pellets to Drax U.K.-based Peel Ports Group has announced plans for a new biomass terminal at the Port of Liverpool that will be capable of handing up to 3 million metric tons of pellets per year. The facility will supply pellets to the Drax power station in Selby. READ MORE SHARE
DOE's ARPA-E funds 6 projects to improve sorghum development The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded $30 million to six projects under its Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture program, which aims to accelerate energy crop development for biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
Call-in information released for EPA’s June 25 RFS hearing The U.S. EPA has posted a notice to its website providing call-in information for the June 25 hearing scheduled to address the agency's proposed rule for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 renewable fuel standard (RFS). READ MORE SHARE
AgEC: Ag appropriations bill aims to cut Energy Title funding On June 17, the House Appropriations Committee released the fiscal year 2016 Agricultural Appropriations bill. The proposed legislation funds a variety of agricultural and food programs, including rural development and farm services programs. READ MORE SHARE
Spero Energy receives $1 million in funding from DOE Spero Energy Inc., a company that licenses Purdue intellectual property, has received federal funding to develop its one-step, patent-pending technology that could improve the efficiency of alternative fuel production. READ MORE SHARE
Tennessee awards $250,000 grant to waste-to-energy project A $250,000 matching funds grant has been awarded to the city of Lebanon, Tennessee, to assist with construction of a new waste-to-energy facility that will reduce landfill usage and provide clean electrical power. READ MORE SHARE
Professor wins funding to scale up energy-from-waste system Morgan State University professor Seong W. Lee and his research team are the recipients of a $100,000 Phase 1 award from the Maryland Innovation Initiative to transition his CycloBurn Combustion System from prototype to commercialization. READ MORE SHARE
IH2 technology licensed for demonstration plant SynSel Energi AS has entered into an IH2 process demonstration license agreement with CRI/Criterion Catalyst Co. Ltd. The technology is a continuous catalytic thermo-chemical process that converts biomass material into hydrocarbon fuels. READ MORE SHARE
Microvi ethanol technology validated at LBNL Microvi Biotechnologies, working with the Advanced Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has demonstrated breakthrough improvements to biological ethanol production. READ MORE SHARE
Researchers look at multiple traits to improve switchgrass Researchers use alternative breeding methods to produce switchgrass with a high amount of biomass per acre and low levels of lignin. Switchgrass with the improved traits is specifically designed to improve biofuel production. READ MORE SHARE