Biomass Week - July 17, 2015

World’s largest biomass shipment discharged at Port of Immingham The world's largest ever single shipment of biomass has been discharged on the quayside at Associated British Ports' Humber International Terminal at the Port of Immingham ready for onward transit to Drax power station. READ MORE SHARE
EPA begins publishing annual data on RIN sales, RIN holdings In early July, the U.S. EPA released renewable identification number (RIN) sales data aggregated by renewable fuel standard (RFS) party type for the first time. The EPA said the data will increase transparency in the RIN market. READ MORE SHARE
	New Jersey WWTP adds biogas conditioning system, generator New Jersey's Hanover Township wastewater treatment plant expects to finish a project to more efficiently use biogas produced at the plant by fall of this year. Biogas conditioning equipment and a 100-kilowatt (kW) generator have been installed. READ MORE SHARE
California funds 5 dairy digester projects The California Department of Food and Agriculture has awarded $11.1 million to support five anaerobic digestion (AD) projects at dairy operations around the state. The projects will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy manure. READ MORE SHARE
EPA opens comment period on cottonseed oil analysis The U.S. EPA is inviting public comment on its preliminary analysis of the lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributable to the production and transport of Gossypium spp. seed oil (cottonseed oil) feedstock for use in biofuel production. READ MORE SHARE
DOE seeks nominations for biomass advisory committee The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is soliciting nominations for candidates to fill vacancies on the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. Nominations are due Aug. 14. READ MORE SHARE
Event to focus on biobased product, chemical, fuel coproduction The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technology’s Office (BETO) has announced plans to hold a workshop focused on the challenges associated with the coproduction of biomass-derived chemicals, products and biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
Ceres discusses plan to realign its focus during investor call Ceres Inc. has released financial results for its fiscal third quarter, reporting the company is continuing to realign its focus towards food and forage opportunities and biotechnology traits, rather than bioenergy markets. READ MORE SHARE
EU Agricultural Council adopts ILUC biofuel rules The Agricultural and Fisheries Council of the European Union has officially adopted the new rules to address indirect land use change (ILUC) impacts associated with biofuels. The directive was accepted by the European Parliament in late April. READ MORE SHARE
USDA schedules July 16 forum, webinar on loan guarantee program USDA Rural Development’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) has scheduled a July 16 forum to introduce the new Biorefinery, Renewable Chemicals, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program. READ MORE SHARE
UK DECC releases first quarter energy statistics At the end of June, the U.K.'s Department of Energy and Climate Change published first quarter energy statistics in its Energy Trends and Energy Prices publications. The report shows the U.K. has made progress in achieving its renewable energy goals. READ MORE SHARE
EPA honors Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards winners The U.S. EPA is recognizing green chemistry technologies developed by industrial pioneers and leading scientists that turn climate risk and other environmental problems into business opportunities, spurring innovation and economic development. READ MORE SHARE
New family of chemical structures remove CO2 from gas mixtures A newly discovered family of chemical structures could increase the value of biogas and natural gas that contains carbon dioxide. The new chemical structures, known as zeolites, have been created by an international team of researchers. READ MORE SHARE
5 Minnesota energy projects selected for NextGen funding The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has selected five renewable energy projects to receive NextGen Energy grants. The grants were specifically targeted at projects using woody biomass to replace propane as a heat source. READ MORE SHARE
DuPont, New Tianlong Industry sign deal for cellulosic technology DuPont and Jilin Province New Tianlong Industry Co. Ltd. have announced a licensing agreement to begin the development of China's largest cellulosic ethanol manufacturing plant, located in Siping City, Jilin Province, China. READ MORE SHARE
Research team seeks more efficient biomass refinement processes Researchers from across the world, including from Virginia Tech, plan to mimic the chemistry of the brown rot fungus to improve biorefining processes. The $4 million project is funded by the Research Council of Norway and industrial partners. READ MORE SHARE
Newlight signs contract for 19 billion pounds of AirCarbon PHA Newlight Technologies recently announced that it has signed a take-or-pay off-take agreement with Vinmar International Ltd. Under the terms of the 20-year master off-take agreement, Vinmar will purchase up to 19 billion pounds of AirCarbon PHA. READ MORE SHARE
Researchers from Israel and Florida awarded funding for biogas Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel and University of Florida researchers have been awarded a United States-Israel Bi-national Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD) grant to improve the production of biogas on farms. READ MORE SHARE
MGT Power, Macquarie sign agreement on Teesside bioenergy plant Macquarie Capital and Macquarie's Commodities and Financial Markets group have recently signed an agreement to support MGT Power Limited in the financing of the 299 MWe Teesside Renewable Energy Plant. READ MORE SHARE
Drax: New milestone reached in biomass supply chain A three-year partnership between Lloyds Register Rail, U.K. manufacturer WH Davis and Drax has reached a significant milestone as Drax takes delivery of its 200th specially designed biomass rail freight wagon. READ MORE SHARE
Deinove reaches third milestone of the Deinol program Deinove recently announced that it has reached the third and penultimate milestone of its Deinol project supported by Bpifrance. Achievement of this milestone triggers grant funding of up to EUR 1.2 million ($1.31 million). READ MORE SHARE