Biomass Week - April 29, 2016

Winner announced in Pellet Stove Design Challenge A German-designed Wittus pellet stove has been named winner of the third Pellet Stove Design Challenge, an event coordinated by the Alliance for Green Heat and this year hosted by the U.S. DOE’s Brookhaven National Lab. READ MORE SHARE
Astec points to pellet division as bright spot Despite an off year overall for the global pellet market, Astec Industries reported that its pellet division continues to be a bright spot for the company. In its Q1 2016 financial earnings call, Astec reported net sales for Q1 as $278.7 million. READ MORE SHARE
	Covanta announces shutdown of Maine, California biomass plants Covanta Holding Corp. has released first quarter financial results, reporting that the company’s biomass assets have recently been idled. Overall, total revenue increased to $403 million compared to $383 million during the same period of 2015. READ MORE SHARE
New York opens $150 million RFP for large-scale renewable energy On April 21, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the availability of $150 million in funding to support large-scale renewable energy projects. The funding will be provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. READ MORE SHARE
Biomass Research and Development Board to hold webinar May 5 On May 5, Biomass Research and Development Board operations committee is expected to hold a listening session, titled “Building a Billion Ton Bioeconomy in the United States.” The two-hour webinar is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. EDT. READ MORE SHARE
USDA opens Value-Added Production Grant funding opportunity The USDA is making up to $44 million available to farmers, ranchers and businesses through its Value-Added Producer Grant program. On-farm anaerobic digestion (AD) systems are among the projects eligible for the program. READ MORE SHARE
Eastern Pennsylvania natural gas consumers enrolling in RNG offer The Energy Co-op, an independently-owned, local, nonprofit energy supplier, launched a renewable natural gas product to residential consumers in the Philadelphia Electric Company natural gas territory to offset their pipeline gas consumption. READ MORE SHARE
RFA publishes analysis of California LCFS data The Renewable Fuels Association has released an analysis of recently published data on California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, noting grain ethanol provided nearly half of the greenhouse gas reductions achieved through 2015. READ MORE SHARE
Vermont funds pellet infrastructure, wood heat projects The Vermont Department of Public Service has awarded $913,054 from the Clean Energy Development Fund to support local wood heat, including five grants to support bulk pellet infrastructure and 11 to support advanced wood heating system installation. READ MORE SHARE
Ohio bill would extend freeze on RPS Legislation recently introduced in Ohio aims to extend a freeze on the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) at 2.5 percent for three additional years, through 2019. In June 2014, a law was signed to freeze the RPS for two years. READ MORE SHARE
‘War of the plants’ being studied by AgriLife Research scientists Two Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists are studying the virtual tug-of-war that takes place when a pathogen attacks a plant. Better understanding those changes could unlock new ways to improve plants by making them more disease-resistant. READ MORE SHARE
DOE BETO hosts bioenergy event with 4-H youth leaders The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office hosted a roundtable discussion with a group of 4-H youth delegates from across the country on April 12. The roundtable was part of the larger National 4-H Conference. READ MORE SHARE
Pentair Haffmans introduces CO2 recovery system for biogas Pentair Haffmans has launched a compact enclosed skid CO2 recovery system that can be connected to any existing biogas upgrading plant. The system helps maximize yield and minimize environmental impact. READ MORE SHARE
Airline teams up with Alberta's Clean Energy Technology Centre WestJet recently announced it has teamed up with Alberta-based Clean Energy Technology Centre to accelerate the development of sustainable aviation biofuel in Western Canada. READ MORE SHARE
Lux: Low-carbon fuels, vehicle efficiency to cut CO2 emissions Global road transportation accounts for a sixth of all global carbon dioxide emissions, and its share is rising. A new analysis from Lux Research finds that low-carbon fuels and vehicle efficiency will cut emissions by 29 percent in 2030. READ MORE SHARE
PHYCO2, MSU announce breakthrough in algae technology PHYCO2 has made a technology breakthrough in Phase I of the multi-year trial with Michigan State University. The technology partnership set out to capture man-made carbon dioxide and create renewable alternative energy feedstock. READ MORE SHARE
BTEC applauds Senate passage of Energy Policy Modernization Act The Biomass Thermal Energy Council expressed its support for the recent Senate passage of Energy Policy Modernization Act. Two key BTEC-supported provisions that benefit biomass were included in this legislation. READ MORE SHARE