Biomass Week - June 7, 2017

Enviva Forest Conservation Fund awards 2017 grants The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund recently announced it is awarding $500,000 to three projects that will help conserve more than 8,000 acres of environmentally sensitive bottomland and wetland forests. READ MORE SHARE
Nevada bill aims to increase RPS to 40 percent by 2030 On June 5, the Nevada Senate voted 12 to nine in favor of legislation that aims to increase the state’s clean energy standard to 40 percent renewables by 2030. The Nevada Assembly passed the bill, AB 206, by a vote of 30 to 12 in late May. READ MORE SHARE
	Trump pulls US out of Paris Agreement In what he described as a move to fulfill his duty to protect America and its citizens, President Donald Trump has officially begun the process to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord. READ MORE SHARE
USDA, DOE open $9 million BRDI funding opportunity The USDA and U.S. Department of Energy are making up to $9 million in funding available through the Biomass Research and Development Initiative to support the development of bioenergy feedstocks, biofuels and biobased products. READ MORE SHARE
Port of Tyne takes delivery of 2 eco-hoppers The Port of Tyne took delivery of two new purpose-built eco-hoppers June 6 at a cost of £4.5 million, marking a major milestone in the development of around £100 million of new infrastructure at the port’s South Shields base in northeast England. READ MORE SHARE
Drax Biomass awarded Lantern Award Drax Biomass recently received the Lantern Award for its dedication and commitment to Louisiana communities. The award was handed out personally by Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson. READ MORE SHARE
EPA grant supports development of California biomass project The U.S. EPA has awarded $56.8 million in fiscal year 2017 brownfields funding through its assessment and cleanup grants. A portion of that funding will benefit a bioenergy project in California. READ MORE SHARE
USDA report provides background on Japan’s Clean Wood Act A report filed with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network provides background information Japan’s recently implemented Clean Wood Act, which aims to ensure domestic and imported wood are harvested legally. READ MORE SHARE
RSB report outlines 2016 achievements The Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials recently released a report reviewing its 2016 activities and highlighting its increased impact and presence in the global renewable fuels industry. A total of 17 countries are now represented in the program. READ MORE SHARE
Research aims to produce biofuel feedstock on strip-mine sites Marvin Hall, a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is working to bring a highly productive life back to land damaged by mining using switchgrass, a crop that can be used as an alternative fuel source. READ MORE SHARE
Xergi’s largest biogas plant makes milk production greener Xergi has announced plans to deliver its largest biogas plant to date. The facility will supply Danish dairy company Arla Foods with green energy for the production of milk powder in Videbaek in the western part of Denmark. READ MORE SHARE
Air Liquide to supply oxygen to UK advanced biofuel facility Air Liquide has been awarded a five-year contract to supply a large volume of oxygen per year to an advanced biofuels facility being constructed by Advanced Plasma Power and Cadent that will produce biosubstitute natural gas. READ MORE SHARE
GE technology to convert food waste into biogas at Utah project The Wasatch Resource Recovery project in North Salt Lake City, Utah, has selected GE's Monsal advanced anaerobic digestion technologies to convert food waste into biogas to generate renewable energy and fertilizer. READ MORE SHARE
Fungal enzymes team up to more efficiently break down cellulose A team led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara has found for the first time that early lineages of fungi can form complexes of enzymes capable of degrading plant biomass. READ MORE SHARE
Alliance Bioenergy licenses process to Earth's Renewable Energy Alliance BioEnergy Plus Inc. recently announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, AMG Energy Group, has entered into a sublicensing agreement with Earth's Renewable Energy LLC of Newport Beach, California. READ MORE SHARE
Airbus offers regular customer delivery flights with biofuel Showing its strong commitment towards eco-efficiency, Airbus becomes the first aircraft manufacturer to offer its customers the option of delivering new jets using a blend of sustainable jet fuel. READ MORE SHARE
Covestro produces biobased aniline Covestro has scored a research breakthrough for the use of plant-based raw materials in plastics production: aniline, an important basic chemical, can now be derived from biomass. READ MORE SHARE