Pellet Mill Press - June 20, 2017

Opinion: Setting the record straight on the Paris Agreement Even though President Trump has chosen to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, U.S. pellet producers will still be able to participate in mitigating the negative impacts of climate change by continuing to supply wood pellets to Europe. 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
	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
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
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
Hazlett selected to lead USDA Rural Development agencies Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has named Anne Hazlett to lead USDA’s Rural Development agencies. Hazlett, who’s title will be assistant to the secretary for Rural Development, will report directly to Perdue. READ MORE SHARE
Enviva’s Cottondale plant idle less than 1 day following fire A June 10 fire at Enviva’s pellet plant in Cottondale, Florida, resulted in minor damages, but the plant resumed operations at full capacity later that day. The fire occurred in a conveyor belt. 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
EIA updates short-term bioenergy forecasts The U.S. Energy Infrastructure Administration has released the June edition of Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting nonhydropower renewables will provide 9 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2017, increasing to nearly 10 percent in 2018. 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
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
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