Biomass Week - June 21, 2017

Draft of US wood chip heating fuel standard available for comment A committee working on development of a voluntary national wood chip heating fuel technical quality standard for the U.S. has a draft ready for public comment. The effort, funded by a U.S. Forest Service grant, has been underway for several years. READ MORE SHARE
Nevada governor vetoes bill to increase RPS to 40 percent by 2030 On June 16, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed a bill that aimed to increase the state’s clean energy standard to 40 percent renewables by 2030, up from the current requirement of 25 percent renewable energy by 2025. READ MORE SHARE
	Velocys begins second phase of USDA loan guarantee process Velocys plc recently announced the USDA has invited it to submit a Phase II application for a loan guarantee to support the development of a commercial-scale biorefinery with the capacity to produce 19 million gallons of renewable diesel per year. READ MORE SHARE
DOE awards STTR, SBIR grants to several bioenergy projects The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding 263 grants totaling $116 million to 184 small businesses under the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Several of the awards support bioenergy projects. READ MORE SHARE
Enviva considers building pellet facility in Virginia The city of Danville, Virginia, recently announced the approval of a purchase agreement with Enviva Development Holdings LLC for a 168-acre tract of land in the Berry Hill Industrial Park in Pittsylvania County. READ MORE SHARE
Nelja Energia announces startup of Latvian pellet, CHP facilities Estonia-based Nelja Energia recently announced the opening of a wood chip-fueled cogeneration facility and 120,000 metric-ton per year pellet plant in Brocēni, Latvia. Most of the pellets produced at the plant are exported to the European market. READ MORE SHARE
ARC awards $1.5 million to support biorefinery center at ASC The Appalachian Regional Commission has awarded $1.5 million to New York-based Alfred State College to support its Biorefinery Development and Commercialization Center project, which aims to leverage wood resources to create sustainable business. READ MORE SHARE
Perdue names 3 to USDA leadership roles Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue recently named three individuals who will take on leadership roles as the USDA continues the reorganization announced on May 11. READ MORE SHARE
Amyris, Queensland move forward with planned biorefinery Amyris Inc. and the government of Queensland, Australia, recently announced the next step their plans to develop a leading industrial biotechnology hub in Southeast Asia. The proposed facility will produce biobased farnesene. READ MORE SHARE
WEF, ABC to accelerate generation of renewable energy The Water Environment Federation and the American Biogas Council are partnering to expand the conversion of organic waste into renewable energy and valuable soil products at facilities across the U.S. READ MORE SHARE
S2G BioChem to build advanced biorefinery in Ontario S2G BioChem, a developer of natural biotechnology conversion processes, recently announced that it has started work on the company's first standalone biorefinery demonstration plant that it intends to build in Sarnia, Ontario. READ MORE SHARE
Students attend pop-up Drax virtual tour Schoolchildren at a North Yorkshire primary school recently experienced a unique new “pop up” planetarium developed by Drax to support STEM learning—science, technology, engineering and math—in the curriculum. READ MORE SHARE
Rivertop Renewables’ sodium glucarate achieves REACH registration Rivertop Renewables has announced that its innovative chemical, sodium glucarate, has achieved registration under the European Chemical Agency’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals regulation. READ MORE SHARE
Biogest builds fifth gas-to-grid biogas plant in the UK Biogest recently announced a contract for the construction of its fifth gas-to-grid biogas plant in the U.K. The plant has an output of 1,400 standard cubic meters of biogas per hour, which corresponds to a thermal output of approximately 7 MW. READ MORE SHARE
ExxonMobil, Synthetic Genomics report algae biofuel breakthrough ExxonMobil and Synthetic Genomics Inc. have announced a breakthrough in joint research into advanced biofuels involving the modification of an algae strain that more than doubled its oil content without significantly inhibiting the strain’s growth. READ MORE SHARE
REG completes Geismar land purchase Renewable Energy Group recently announced it has completed the $20 million acquisition of approximately 82 acres of land at and in close proximity to its Geismar, Louisiana, biorefinery from Lion Copolymer. READ MORE SHARE
DOE names new director of ORNL U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry recently announced the appointment of Thomas Zacharia as the new Director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He was unanimously selected by the UT-Battelle board of governors to succeed Thom Mason. READ MORE SHARE