Pellet Mill Press - December 6, 2016

EU publishes clean energy policy package for heating, cooling This week, the European Commission released a package of policy proposals aimed at boosting the EU’s competitiveness as the world transitions to a clean energy mix. AEBIOM and REA express support and concern over certain aspects of the legislation. READ MORE SHARE
Vermont launches wood, pellet stove change-out program A new wood and pellet stove change-out program in Vermont aims to help residents update existing systems with cleaner, more efficient models. READ MORE SHARE
	Colombo Energy becomes 17th qualified into PFI Standards Program On Nov. 30, the Pellet Fuels Institute qualified Colombo Energy of Greenwood, South Carolina, into its Standards Program, which now represents 17 pellet manufacturing companies, among them 29 facilities. READ MORE SHARE
2017 IBCE opens call for presentation ideas BBI International has announced its call for presentation ideas for the 2017 International Biomass Conference & Expo, taking place April 10-12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The deadline to submit presentation ideas is Dec. 2. READ MORE SHARE
UK trade groups REA, WHA launch biomass heat campaign The Renewable Energy Association and Wood Heat Association recently launched a campaign to urge government to support the continued use of biomass as it makes its final decisions around how renewable heat technologies will be funded to 2021. READ MORE SHARE
DOE to fund renewable energy projects on Indian land The U.S. DOE has announced plans to provide up to $6 million in funding to support the deployment of energy efficiency and clean energy on Indian land. Applications are due Feb. 7. An informational webinar is planned for Dec. 1. READ MORE SHARE
Finland outlines energy, climate actions to 2030 and beyond The Finland government approved the national energy and climate strategy to 2030 on Nov. 24. The strategy will be submitted as a government report to the Parliament, where discussion on it started Nov. 30. READ MORE SHARE
ETI releases UK decarbonization strategy combining bioenergy, CCS The Energy Technologies Institute released a report this month highlighting the importance of combining bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) if the U.K. is to meet its 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets cost-effectively. READ MORE SHARE
More than half of UK electricity sourced from low-carbon sources A recent report authored by researchers from Imperial College London, in collaboration with Drax, determined that for the first time ever more than half of Britain’s electricity came from low-carbon sources during the third quarter. READ MORE SHARE
White House decarbonization report addresses biofuels, biomass The White House has published a mid-century strategy on decarbonization that addresses biofuels and bioenergy. On Nov. 16, the report was filed with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change under the Paris climate deal. READ MORE SHARE
DONG Energy provides update of bioenergy projects DONG Energy recently released third quarter financial results, reporting operating profit increased by 7 percent, reaching DKK 4.5 billion ($650.83 million). The company also discussed several bioenergy projects in its quarterly investor call. READ MORE SHARE
Engineering firm warns biomass builders on cutting costs Moves to make green energy more cost-effective, by cutting corners to reduce up-front costs cheaper, can prove to be an expensive mistake, Axiom Engineering Associates, a U.K. materials engineering company, warns. READ MORE SHARE
Survey identifies more than 100 million dead trees in California The USDA recently announced that the U.S. Forest Service has identified an additional 36 million dead trees across California since its last aerial survey in May 2016. This brings the total number of dead trees since 2010 to over 102 million. READ MORE SHARE
Investing in the 'bioeconomy' could create jobs, reduce emissions A new article looks at the potential benefits of a Billion Ton Bioeconomy, a vision to enable a sustainable market for producing and converting a billion tons of U.S. biomass to biobased energy, fuels, and products by 2030. READ MORE SHARE