Pellet Mill Press - February 21, 2017

PFI qualifies 20th pellet producer to standards program Fiber Energy Products and Forest Energy Corp. each had a wood pellet manufacturing plant qualify for the Pellet Fuels Institute Standards Program, bringing the total number of qualified facilities to 20. READ MORE SHARE
EIA updates bioenergy, wood heating forecasts The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the February edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting the non-hydro renewables share of U.S. electricity generation will be 9 percent in 2017 and 10 percent in 2018. READ MORE SHARE
	Drax reports good operational year, discusses future in biomass Drax Group has released its preliminary results for 2016. Via webcast, CEO Dorothy Thompson discussed challenges and successes over the past year, as well as some of the company’s future goals for biomass conversions and wood pellet production. READ MORE SHARE
True Sustainability in Pine Bluff While pellets produced at Highland Pellets’ new facility leave for overseas, the benefits remain in the surrounding community of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. READ MORE SHARE
Astec weighs in on strong year, future wood pellet projects Astec Inc. reported a solid year in 2016, having grown both revenue and net income quarter-over- quarter and year-over-year, on top of an end-of-year record backlog and a larger-than-anticipated number for pellet plant revenue. READ MORE SHARE
Pellet producer Equustock acquires South Dakota, New York plants Equustock LLC announced two recent plant acquisitions in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Kingsbury, New York. The Rapid City plant is the former Mountain Pine Management facility and the site in Kingsbury is the former location of Royal Wood Shavings. READ MORE SHARE
Trump, Obama and Wood Stoves Even though President Trump is a climate change skeptic and put the head of Exxon in charge of our state department, could he still do something good for our modest slice of the residential renewable energy movement? READ MORE SHARE
Pruitt confirmed as US EPA administrator In a 54-46 vote, Scott Pruitt has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as administrator of the U.S. EPA. He has served as attorney general of Oklahoma since November 2010. READ MORE SHARE
Alberta awards $60 million to 31 bioenergy companies Through its Bioenergy Producer Program, the government of Alberta has awarded $60 million to 31 different companies that have built or are in the process of constructing in-province bioenergy projects READ MORE SHARE