Biomass Week - January 20, 2017

January 20, 2017

Trump nominates Perdue to serve as agriculture secretary President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue to lead the USDA. The nomination, which is subject to U.S. Senate confirmation, represents Trump’s final cabinet selection. Perdue served as Georgia governor from 2003-2011. READ MORE SHARE
Senators question Pruitt on biofuels, RFS On Jan. 18, the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works held a hearing on the nomination of Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as administrator of the U.S. EPA. Biofuels were among the topics discussed. READ MORE SHARE
	Agenda for technical sessions announced for 2017 IBCE BBI International has announced the agenda for the technical sessions of the 10th annual International Biomass Conference & Expo, North America’s largest and fastest growing biomass conference, taking place April 10-12 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. READ MORE SHARE
EPA denies cellulosic waiver filed by APFM On Jan. 17, the U.S. EPA sent a letter to the American Petrochemical and Fuel Manufacturers denying its petition for a partial supplemental waiver of the 2016 cellulosic biofuel standard under the renewable fuel standard (RFS). READ MORE SHARE
DOE jobs report features data on bioenergy, biofuels employment On Jan. 13, the U.S. Department of Energy released its second annual analysis of how changes in America’s energy profile are affecting national employment in key sectors of the economy. The report addresses a wide range of energy technologies. READ MORE SHARE
EPA awards small business research grant to cookstove company EPA recently awarded a SBIR grant to Oregon-based ASAT Inc. to develop and market a clean-burning, integrated cookstove. ASAT specializes in heating, cooking and thermoelectric generation technology and has developed biomass cooking stoves. READ MORE SHARE
White paper offers Trump a strategy to benefit coal, wood pellets FutureMetrics released a white paper this month providing a strategy for how the Trump administration can help save the coal industry while boosting the industrial pellet industry with policy that supports the cofiring of wood pellets with coal. READ MORE SHARE
EPA defers action on petitions regarding biomass, WtE The U.S. EPA has published a notice of final action on petitions for reconsideration and petitions for administrative stay regarding emissions guidelines for greenhouse gas emissions and compliance times for electric utility generating units. READ MORE SHARE
IKEA installs fourth biogas-powered fuel cell system IKEA has completed installation of its fourth biogas-powered fuel cell system, at its San Diego store. With the new fuel cell system installed, commissioned and operational, IKEA is on track to generate a total of 1.5 MW of energy via fuel cells. READ MORE SHARE
Emerson awarded contract to help convert Lynemouth to biomass EPH Lynemouth Power has awarded Emerson a contract to help convert the 44-year-old coal-fired Lynemouth Power Station to a new biomass-fueled power plant. Emerson is responsible for helping the project come online within budget and on time. READ MORE SHARE
ORNL: Populus SNP dataset holds promise for biofuels Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have released the largest-ever single nucleotide polymorphism dataset of genetic variations in poplar trees, information useful to plant scientists, biofuel researchers and others. READ MORE SHARE
Report: Infrastructure options for biofuel delivery to Sea-Tac The Port of Seattle, Boeing and Alaska Airlines recently released a first-of-its-kind study that identifies the best infrastructure options for delivering aviation biofuel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. READ MORE SHARE
MIT engineers program yeast to convert plant sugars into oils MIT engineers have genetically reprogrammed a strain of yeast so that it converts sugars to fats much more efficiently, an advance that could make possible the renewable production of high-energy fuels such as diesel. READ MORE SHARE
MSU scientist wins grant to improve camelina seed qualities A Montana State University scientist has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to research ways to improve the usefulness of camelina, an ancient crop with biofuel potential. READ MORE SHARE
Researchers: New fertilizer technology to benefit biogas industry Researchers of Aalto University have developed a new, energy-efficient method for capturing nitrogen and phosphorus from different liquid waste fractions. The technology is expected to benefit biogas plants, wastewater treatment plants and others. READ MORE SHARE
PNNL develops streamlined process to evaluate algae species A new $6-million collaborative project is using a unique climate-simulating laboratory system as part of a new streamlined process to quickly pare down heaps of algae species into just a few that hold the most promise for renewable fuels. READ MORE SHARE
2016 Billion-Ton Report Volume 2 analyzes environmental effects The 2016 Billion-Ton Report (BT16), Volume 2: Environmental Sustainability Effects of Select Scenarios from Volume 1 has been jointly released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. READ MORE SHARE
DOE releases analysis of biofuels, bioproducts from waste streams The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office recently announced the publication of a report, titled Biofuels and Bioproducts from Wet and Gaseous Waste Streams: Challenges and Opportunities. READ MORE SHARE
Forest Fuels opens new wood pellet depot in Liverpool The ready availability of wood pellets for biomass boilers in the North West of England has been boosted with the arrival of Forest Fuels to its new facility in Liverpool. READ MORE SHARE