Biomass Week - August 19, 2016

Tees REP finalizes project financing, Enviva off-take agreement On Aug. 8, MGT Teesside Ltd. announced it has finalized financing arrangements for the U.K.-based Tees Renewable Energy Plant. A few days later, Enviva announced its previously announced agreement to supply wood pellets to the plant is now firm. READ MORE SHARE
EPA commits to meet statutory RFS reporting requirements On Aug. 18, the U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General published a report finding that two agency offices have not complied with certain statutory reporting and analysis requirements concerning the renewable fuel standard (RFS). READ MORE SHARE
	German biogas industry adds 150 plants in 2015 Germany added 23 MW in biogas electricity last year among 150 plants built, most of which were small, manure-based plants. While that number sounds impressive, it’s the smallest annual increase since 2000. READ MORE SHARE
NATSO speaks out against efforts to redefine RFS obligated party On Aug. 8, the National Association of Truck Stop Operators issued a statement opposing efforts to move the point of obligation under the renewable fuel standard (RFS) from refiners and importers to rack sellers. READ MORE SHARE
DBEIS releases 2016 Digest of U.K. Energy Statistics The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy recently released the Digest of U.K. Energy Statistics 2016, providing detailed analysis of production, transformation and consumption of energy in 2015. READ MORE SHARE
Report predicts growth in Italian wood pellet heating The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network has published a report on the Italian wood pellet market, noting the country consumed 3.1 million metric tons of pellets last year. READ MORE SHARE
Schneider Electric launches tool for renewable energy development Schneider Electric launched a collaborative online platform called the NEO Network to help commercial and industrial companies identify and evaluate renewable energy, cleantech and energy-efficiency prospects around the world. READ MORE SHARE
Lightning causes feedstock fire near DuPont cellulosic facility A lightning strike is the suspected cause of a second fire that has impacted feedstock storage areas associated with DuPont’s cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa, in August. The first fire occurred Aug. 4, with the second starting Aug. 17. READ MORE SHARE
Hekotek to deliver pellet plant equipment to project in Siberia In early August, Hekotek announced it has signed an agreement with Boguchansky LPK to deliver pellet plant equipment for a facility in Boguchany, Russia, which is located in the province of Siberia. READ MORE SHARE
Norden, Enviva sign contracts for transport of wood pellets Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S, a global independent shipping company founded in 1871, has contracted with the Enviva family of companies to transport 11 million tons of wood pellets from the U.S. to Europe over a 15-year period. READ MORE SHARE
JGI: Expanding the stable of workhorse yeasts Research led by U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute is helping boost the use of a wider range of yeasts and to explore the use of genes and pathways encoded in their genomes. READ MORE SHARE
Queensland to partner with US Navy in biofuel initiative Queensland’s future as the biofuel hub for the Asia-Pacific has further been advanced with the signing of a high-level agreement between the government of Queensland, Australia, and the U.S. Navy. READ MORE SHARE
UK GIB: Nottinghamshire AD plant secures funding More than £13 million ($17.12 million) in funding has been committed to a new anaerobic digestion plant in Nottinghamshire, U.K., that will generate renewable energy. The facility will take in poultry litter, straw, and other materials as feedstock. READ MORE SHARE
Fortum contracts with MGT Teesside to operate, maintain facility Fortum has signed a 10-year operation and maintenance (O&M) agreement with MGT Teesside Ltd. in the UK. The agreement covers the operation and maintenance services of a new 299 MW biomass-fired combined-heat-and-power plant to be located in the U.K. READ MORE SHARE
RHNY offers comprehensive approach to wood heat expansion In 2014, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority launched the $27 million Renewable Heat New York program, which built upon NYSERDA’s biomass R&D program with the aim to create a self-sustaining wood heat industry. READ MORE SHARE
Research could make biofuel production in E. coil more efficient A team of researchers from the School of Engineering & Applied Science at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a way to make the production of certain biofuels in E. coli much more efficient. READ MORE SHARE
Ameresco, city of Phoenix announce biogas project Ameresco Inc. and the city of Phoenix recently announced a multi-million dollar wastewater treatment biogas project at the 91st Ave. wastewater treatment plant. Ameresco will design, build, own, operate and maintain the biogas-to-energy facility. READ MORE SHARE