Biomass Week - June 6, 2018

Turboden sells 300th ORC biomass plant Italy-based Turboden S.p.A., a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries group company, has announced the sale of its 300th Organic Rankine Cycle biomass plant, a 5 MWe plant sold in Turkey to AGT. READ MORE SHARE
Ag committee members advocate for Farm Bill energy title programs On June 4, a group of eight members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry sent a letter to committee chair Sen. Pat Roberts and ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow expressing support for the Farm Bill energy title programs. READ MORE SHARE
	EIA: 640,000 tons of densified biomass fuel sold in February The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released data showing that U.S. manufacturers produced approximately 570,000 tons of densified biomass fuel in February, with sales reaching 640,000 tons during the month. READ MORE SHARE
Pinnacle announces off-take contract with Japan-based Hanwa Pinnacle Renewable Holdings Inc. has entered into a new long-term, take-or-pay off-take contract with Japan-based Hanwa Co. Ltd. Under the contract, Pinnacle will supply Hanwa with 75,000 metric tons of wood pellet annually, beginning in 2022. READ MORE SHARE
DOE seeks nominations for biomass R&D advisory committee The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking nominations for candidates to fill vacancies on the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. Nominations are due June 30. READ MORE SHARE
St1 announces biofuel projects in Sweden, Columbia On May 25, Nordic energy group St1 announced plans for two separate biofuels projects. One aims to produce biofuels from tall oil in Sweden while the other will explore a combined carbon farming and sustainable biofuels concept in Columbia. READ MORE SHARE
Walz Scale develops volumetric measurement systems for biomass Illinois-based Walz Scale has developed new volumetric measurement systems for the biomass industry. The non-contact laser based measurement systems provide high accuracy volume measurement for trucks and conveyor belts. READ MORE SHARE
Shell Aviation, SkyNRG collaborate on sustainable aviation fuel Shell Aviation and SkyNRG have announced a long-term strategic collaboration to promote and develop the use of sustainable fuel in aviation supply chains. The effort is structurally supported by committed funding to a joint business development fund. READ MORE SHARE
King County begins RNG production at water treatment plant King County, Washington, which has converted methane to natural gas for more than 30 years, is now producing renewable natural gas (RNG) at its South Treatment Plant in Renton. The biofuel can replace diesel in commercial vehicles. READ MORE SHARE
Farm and biofuel coalition demands EPA account for lost RVOs A coalition of biofuel and agriculture groups have petitioned the U.S. EPA to change its regulations to account for lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from the unprecedented number of retroactive small refinery exemptions from RFS obligations. READ MORE SHARE
EIA, NextStep sign MOU for renewable aviation fuels Edmonton International Airport and NextStep Renewable Energy Inc. announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding to bring forward low-carbon, renewable fuels into the aviation and airport sectors. READ MORE SHARE
New machine learning approach could accelerate bioengineering Scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed a way to use machine learning to dramatically accelerate the design of microbes that produce biofuel. READ MORE SHARE
Fortum to provide technology to bioenergy plant in Ireland Fortum has signed a low-NOx combustion technology agreement with Bord na Móna in Ireland for its Edenderry peat and biomass power plant. The agreement covers the whole turnkey project for the 128-MW cofired plant. READ MORE SHARE
Purdue wins $1.8 million from DOE to solve biorefinery blockages A team led by Purdue University scientists will receive a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to solve one of the biggest problems facing biorefinery operations—the flow of biomass into and throughout the facilities. READ MORE SHARE
Ethanol coalition sues EPA over small refinery exemptions The RFA, NCGA, ACE and NFU, with support of Farmers Union Enterprises, filed suit May 29 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit to challenge several waivers from the RFS that the U.S. EPA granted in secret to profitable refining companies. READ MORE SHARE