Biomass Week - April 17, 2019

EPA seeks comments on SRE portion of proposed REGS rule The U.S. EPA announced April 12 that it will reopen the comment period on one aspect of proposed rule issued in 2016 in an effort to “expand transparency surrounding the small refinery exemption program and provide further opportunity for input.” READ MORE SHARE
RNG on-road fuel use reaches historic high Natural Gas Vehicles for America and the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas announced April 16 that 32 percent of all on-road fuel used in natural gas vehicles in calendar year 2018 was renewable natural gas (RNG). READ MORE SHARE
	2017 ag census includes data on on-farm methane digesters The USDA announced the results of its 2017 Census of Agriculture on April 11. The report includes millions of new points of information about America’s farms and ranches and those who operate them, including data on on-farm biogas operations. READ MORE SHARE
Grassley asks for clarity on DOE’s review of SRE applications Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to Energy Secretary Rick Perry on April 11 asking for clarity on the U.S. Department of Energy’s review process concerning Renewable Fuel Standard small refinery exemption (SRE) applications. READ MORE SHARE
EU approves state aid for Irish heat scheme, Polish WtE plant The European Commission announced April 15 that it has approved state aid for an Irish scheme for renewable heat generation and for a waste-to-energy (WtE) cogeneration plant under development in Poland. READ MORE SHARE
MTI funds project by Biofine to produce biobased levulinic acid The Maine Technology institute has awarded $750,000 to Biofine Developments Northeast to support the development of a commercial biorefinery in Bucksport, Maine, that will produce biobased chemicals from wood biomass. READ MORE SHARE
USDA: Eligibility criteria released for tribal biomass program The Forest Service has released eligibility criteria for Indian tribes and Alaska tribal organizations that want to develop demonstration projects to promote biomass energy production under amendments made to the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004. READ MORE SHARE
EIA: Updates bioenergy forecasts, predicts capacity increase The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the April edition of its Short-Term Energy Outlook, predicting renewables will produce 18 percent of U.S. electricity this year, increasing to nearly 20 percent in 2020. READ MORE SHARE
SoCalGas wins $3 million CEC grant to advance new RNG technology Southern California Gas announced the California Energy Commission has awarded the company a $3 million grant to fund the next phase of development of a new technology that increases the efficiency of RNG production at wastewater treatment plants. READ MORE SHARE
DSM: Biomass CHP project reduces CO2 emissions at vitamin plant Royal DSM is reducing carbon dioxide emissions at its vitamin production facility in Sisseln, Switzerland, through a new biomass combined-heat-and-power (CHP) plant on the site. The new CHP plant opened April 9. READ MORE SHARE