Pellet Mill Press - August 7, 2018

Player Design building Maine pellet plant Player Design Inc., a Maine-based engineering, drying and energy equipment provider, is in the midst of building a pellet manufacturing plant in Sanford, Maine. The 35,000-to-capacity facility should be operational later this year. READ MORE SHARE
EIA: 630,000 tons of densified biomass fuel produced in April The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently released data showing that U.S. manufacturers produced approximately 630,000 tons of densified biomass fuel in April, with sales reaching 600,000 tons. READ MORE SHARE
	Drax signs £40 million contract with Siemens for turbine upgrades Drax Power, which operates the biggest power station in the U.K., has signed a new £40 million contract with Siemens for the upgrade of turbines on three of its biomass units over the next three years. READ MORE SHARE
UI seeks proposals for densified biomass solid fuel trials The University of Iowa has opened a RFQL seeking suppliers to develop densified fuel that blends miscanthus with other high-BTU feedstocks. The university intends to attract pellet producers who can supply it with up to 125,000 tons of fuel per year. READ MORE SHARE
Canada delays development of Clean Fuel Standard regulations The Canadian government has announced plans to delay implementation of its Clean Fuel Standard. Original plans called for development of the program regulations to be complete next year. That work is now expected to take until 2021. READ MORE SHARE
Drax reports progress with unit conversion, LaSalle pellet plant Drax Group has released financial results for the first half of 2018, reporting lower than expected EBITDA due to two unplanned outages. Good progress, however, is being made with the fourth biomass unit conversion and a Louisiana pellet plant. READ MORE SHARE
OMB reviews rule to amend 2015 residential wood heater regulation The White House OMB is reviewing a proposal that aims to amend a 2015 rule that set performance standards for new residential wood heaters, hydronic heaters and forced-air furnaces that would allow retailers additional time to sell older appliances. READ MORE SHARE
Astec redefines its role in the pellet plant market Astec Industries Inc. recently released second quarter financial results and explained that while it will continue to serve as an equipment supplier to the pellet industry, the company will no longer finance plants or act as an EPC contractor. READ MORE SHARE
SHI to supply pellet-fueled power plant to customer in Japan Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. has established a joint enterprise with Nippon Steel and Sumikin Engineering Co. Ltd. and announced an order from Kanda Biomass Energy K.K. for a 75,000 kW biomass power plant to be located in Kanda-machi, Japan. READ MORE SHARE
Report explores future of Vietnam pellet industry Pellet exports from Vietnam grew from nearly zero to approximately 2.75 million metric tons per year over the past seven years, according to FutureMetrics. The organization has published a new white paper exploring the country’s pellet export sector. READ MORE SHARE
DOE launches new lab partnering service The U.S. Department of Energy has officially launched the Lab Partnering Service, an online, single access point platform for investors, innovators, and institutions to identify, locate, and obtain information from DOE’s 17 national laboratories. READ MORE SHARE
AEBIOM rebrands to Bioenergy Europe AEBIOM has revealed its new corporate identity, Bioenergy Europe, which aims at giving a clearer, more united voice to Europe’s first source of renewable energy. READ MORE SHARE
Sumitomo SHI FW wins contract for biomass CFB boiler island Sumitomo SHI FW (SFW) announced July 10 that it has been awarded a contract by GS Engineering and Construction for design and supply of the Dangjin Biomass No. 2 Power Plant Project Boiler Island in South Korea. READ MORE SHARE