Biomass Week - July 24, 2015

Industry checkoff program development discussed at PFI conference An update of the proposed wood-to-energy (WTE) checkoff program was provided at the 2015 Pellet Fuels Institute conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. The concept is under review by industry, and a draft is expected late this year or early 2016. READ MORE SHARE
2015 PFI conference underway in Williamsburg, Virginia The Pellet Fuel Institute annual conference is being held July 19-21 in Williamsburg, Virginia, hosting 185 attendees, 31 exhibitors and 11 sponsors. This year's conference began with an overview and analysis of the global pellet market. READ MORE SHARE
	FERC: 128 MW of biomass capacity added during first half of 2015 The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Energy Projects has released the June edition of its Energy Infrastructure Update, reporting the U.S. added 128 MW of installed biomass capacity during the first half of this year. READ MORE SHARE
German Pellets begins phase 2 construction of Louisiana plant German Pellets has completed the commissioning of the first construction phase of its pellet plant in Urania, Louisiana. Work on the second construction phase, which will increase capacity from 578,000 to 1,156 million metric tons, is now underway. READ MORE SHARE
Astec talks pellet plant orders in Q2 earnings call Despite a sluggish quarter that saw a 3 percent decrease in net sales, a drop to $268 million compared to $277.3 million for Q2 2014 and a 19 percent decrease in earnings, Astec Industries Inc. continues to see activity in its pellet plant business. READ MORE SHARE
RFS comment period to close July 27 The public comment period on U.S. EPA’s renewable fuel standard (RFS) proposal is set to close July 27. As of July 22, more than 45,000 comments had already been filed on the proposal. READ MORE SHARE
EPA: 12.42 million cellulosic RINs generated in June The U.S. EPA has released renewable identification number (RIN) generation data for June, reporting that more than 1.56 billion RINs were generated during the month, including more than 12.41 million cellulosic RINs. READ MORE SHARE
U.K. alters RO support for new biomass cofiring, conversions The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has announced several measures that aim to deal with a projected over-allocation of renewable energy subsidies, including changes to grandfathering provisions for biomass cofiring and conversions. READ MORE SHARE
WM reports increased net income in second quarter results Waste Management Inc. has released second quarter financial results, reporting quarterly revenue of $3.32 billion, down from $3.56 billion during the same period of the prior year. Net income for the quarter was $274 million. READ MORE SHARE
Tax extenders package benefiting biofuels passes Senate committee The Senate Finance Committee has passed a tax extenders package that includes two-year extensions of tax credits for cellulosic biofuels and biodiesel. The next step for the legislation is consideration by the full U.S. Senate. READ MORE SHARE
EIA proposes to expand biofuel data collection activities In July, the U.S. Department of Energy published a notice in the Federal Register inviting public comments on proposed revisions to certain information collection forms, including several focused on biofuel. Comments are due Sept. 8. READ MORE SHARE
Viridis: OPC begins plant upgrade to improve efficiency, safety Viridis Energy Inc. recently announced that its subsidiary Okanagan Pellet Co. Inc., has commenced a major plant upgrade to address new regulatory requirements for safe storage and management of wood pellets. READ MORE SHARE
Senate Finance Committee to address tax extenders bill The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance is scheduled to address a tax extenders bill on July 21. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, recently announced he has secured the inclusion of tax incentives for cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel in the legislation. READ MORE SHARE
Project aims to use probiotic bacteria to produce algal crops A Lawrence Livermore team has received an additional $1 million to protect algal crops by developing "probiotic" bacteria to combat pond infestation and increase ecosystem function and resilience. READ MORE SHARE
Reverdia lead partner in BioSuccInnovate Consortium Reverdia has joined the consortium ADMIT BioSuccInnovate, an innovative Climate-KIC initiative will explore with CIMV, a biorefining company, the use of locally-available lignocellulosic feedstock to produce biobased, biodegradable plastic packaging. READ MORE SHARE
Greenlane Biogas installs biogas upgrading plant in China Greenlane Biogas has partnered with China Agricultural University to install a biogas upgrading system to facilitate research in the generation of renewable natural gas. The plant is located at CAU's National RNG Demonstration Park in Zhuozhou. READ MORE SHARE
Lee Enterprises Consulting, Zeton announce strategic alliance Lee Enterprises Consulting, an alternative and renewable fuels consulting group, has announced a strategic alliance with Zeton Inc., which designs and fabricates lab-scale systems, pilot plants, demonstration plants, and other facilities. READ MORE SHARE
New Holland, SUNY partner on biomass research New Holland Agriculture is supplying equipment to the State University of New York that will aid in U.S. Department of Energy-funded research focused on finding ways to reduce the cost of delivering biomass for refinement. READ MORE SHARE
Saxlund to deliver biomass handling system to U.K. project Saxlund International GmbH has received an order from Babcock & Wilcox Volund A/S, Denmark, for the delivery of a state-of-the-art biomass handling system to a green energy project in Margam - Port Talbot, in South Wales, U.K. READ MORE SHARE
Deinove unveils biobased muconic acid production program Deinove recently announced that it has completed conclusive proof of concept for the production of muconic acid by a Deinococcus bacterium and has decided to launch a new research and development platform in this field. READ MORE SHARE
Liquid Light, Coca-Cola sign technology development agreement Liquid Light announced it has signed a technology development agreement with The Coca-Cola Co. The objective of the agreement is to accelerate the development of Liquid Light’s technology which can make mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) from carbon dioxide. READ MORE SHARE
Red Rock Biofuels to provide biobased jet fuel to FedEx Express Red Rock Biofuels LLC has announced that it will produce approximately 3 million gallons of low-carbon, renewable jet fuel per year for FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. The agreement runs through 2024, with first delivery expected in 2017. READ MORE SHARE
Johnson Matthey, Rennovia begin operations at biochemical plant Johnson Matthey Process Technologies and Rennovia Inc. recently announced that they have successfully started-up a mini-plant for production of glucaric acid from glucose using jointly developed technology. READ MORE SHARE
GFBiochemicals starts production of levulinic acid Biobased chemical company GFBiochemicals has started commercial production at its 10,000-metric-ton-per-year levulinic acid plant in Caserta, Italy. The announcement was made at the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology, Montreal. READ MORE SHARE
Xebec begins operations at Chinese landfill gas upgrading project Xebec Adsorption Inc. recently announced that it has commenced operation of its first commercial landfill gas to compressed natural gas (CNG) upgrading system in Anshan, North Eastern China. The resulting fuel will power natural gas taxis. READ MORE SHARE
Genomatica, Cargill announce renewable chemical collaboration Genomatica and Cargill have entered into a collaboration agreement to accelerate the production of renewable chemicals for industrial applications. Cargill also made an equity investment in Genomatica. READ MORE SHARE
Scotch distillery reduces carbon footprint with biomass boiler The Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery in the heart of the Scottish Highlands installed a biomass boiler in late 2014. According to John Dewar & Sons, the system has cut the carbon footprint of the site by 90 percent. READ MORE SHARE
U.K. GIB, Equitix to fund construction of bioenergy project U.K. Green Investment Bank plc and Equitix have announced a commitment to fund the construction of a GBP 30 million ($46.68 million) energy facility in Sheffield. It will generate over 6.5 MW of green electricity, along with thermal energy. READ MORE SHARE
Advanced Ethanol Council changes name, expands membership The Advanced Ethanol Council is expanding its organizational charter to include other types of advanced biofuels. The new group, called the Advanced Biofuels Business Council, also announced new corporate and board members. READ MORE SHARE