Biomass Week - February 14, 2018

Pruitt commits to creating regulatory certainty for biomass EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has provided New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu with a letter announcing EPA’s efforts to work towards a carbon-neutral policy for biomass and clarify federal procurement recommendations for responsibly managed forests. READ MORE SHARE
Construction underway on Indiana RNG project Renewable Dairy Fuels, a business unit of AMP Americas, has announced construction is underway on a on-farm anaerobic digester-to-vehicle fuel operation in Fair Oaks, Indiana. The facility will produce renewable natural gas (RNG) from dairy waste. READ MORE SHARE
	Budget bill retroactively extends biofuel tax credits for 2017 On Feb. 9, President Donald Trump signed the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 into law. The two-year funding bill ends a brief government shutdown and includes retroactive tax extenders for several biofuel-related tax incentives. READ MORE SHARE
ABC: Budget act extends biogas, biomass PTC through 2017 The American Biogas Council has released a statement in response to passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which only includes a one year retroactive extension of the Production Tax Credit for biogas and biomass through 2017. READ MORE SHARE
Connecticut seeks proposals for AD, wind, fuel cell projects The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to solicit offers for certain Connecticut Class I renewable energy sources, including anaerobic digestion, offshore wind and fuel cells. READ MORE SHARE
Paper discusses impact of weather, oil prices on pellet demand FutureMetrics has published a brief white paper explaining how weather and the price of heating oil influence demand for wood pellets used for heating. The paper, published Jan. 31, was authored by William Strauss, president of FutureMetrics. READ MORE SHARE
EIA updates bioenergy forecasts in February report The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the February edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting nonhydropower renewables will provide approximately 10 percent of U.S. electricity generation in 2018 and 2019. READ MORE SHARE
EPA expands list of non-waste fuels under NHSM rule The U.S. EPA has published a final rule adding creosote-borate, copper naphthenate and copper naphthenate-borate treated railroad ties to its list of non-waste fuels under the Non-Hazardous Secondary Materials regulations. READ MORE SHARE
Organic Power to install 2 MW AD plant in Puerto Rico Organic Power Ltd. is installing a Global Water Engineering Raptor anaerobic digestion plant at its green energy facility in Bega Baja, Puerto Rico. Once fully operational in mid-2018, the facility is expected to produce 2.055 MW of electricity. READ MORE SHARE
Active Energy opens Utah facility U.K.-based Active Energy Group plc has announced its CoalSwitch plant in Utah officially became operational the week of Feb. 5 and is producing the company’s high-calorific, high-bulk-density biomass pellet. READ MORE SHARE
Gevo amends isobutanol supply agreement with Musket Gevo Inc. has strengthened its existing relationship with Musket Corp. by amending its isobutanol supply agreement to provide Musket with the exclusive right to sell Gevo’s renewable isobutanol within a 300 mile radius of Houston, Texas. READ MORE SHARE
Gene improves plant growth and conversion to biofuels A research team led by the University of Georgia has discovered that manipulation of the same gene in poplar trees and switchgrass produced plants that grow better and are more efficiently converted to biofuels. READ MORE SHARE
Prodesa, FutureMetrics announce partnership agreement Prodesa and FutureMetrics are teaming up under a new partnership agreement under which FutureMetrics operations expert, John Swaan, will lead a team that trains the operators of new Prodesa pellet plants. READ MORE SHARE
Biogen acquires Tamar Energy Biogen has expanded its food waste recycling network through the acquisition of Tamar Energy, one of the largest anaerobic digestion (AD) owners and operators in the U.K. The combined group operates a network of 13 AD plants and six composting sites. READ MORE SHARE
PA Biomass Energy Association expands to Mid-Atlantic The Pennsylvania Biomass Energy Association has expanded its focus beyond the keystone state to the region and will now be known as the Mid-Atlantic Bioenergy Council. The material focus of the organization remains the same. READ MORE SHARE
Sylvatex, Valicor announce joint development agreement Sylvatex Inc. and Valicor Inc. have entered into a joint development agreement that will oversee the development, construction, and commercialization of Sylvatex’s MicroXTM technology to convert distillers corn oil into MicroXTM renewable blendstock. READ MORE SHARE
DOE Bioenergy Technologies Office evaluated in new report U.S. DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office conducts a biennial peer review that enables external stakeholders to provide feedback on its R&D portfolio and develop recommendations. On Feb. 6, BETO published the results of last year's peer review. READ MORE SHARE
Biofuels feedstock study supports billion-ton estimate Researchers are trying to determine if farmers can produce at least 1 billion tons of biomass per year that can be used as biofuels feedstock, according to North Central Regional Sun Grant Center Director Vance Owens. READ MORE SHARE
Consumers can save a bundle by switching to wood pellets The New Hampshire Wood Energy Council reveals modern wood heating with locally sourced wood pellet fuel is delivering significant heat cost advantages over conventional fossil heating fuels. READ MORE SHARE