Biomass Week - December 16, 2020

Pinnacle: Pellet production begins at High Level mill Pinnacle Renewable Energy announced on Dec. 8 it has commenced initial pellet production at its newly constructed facility in High Level, Alberta, which is owned 50 percent by Pinnacle and 50 percent by Tolko Industries Ltd. READ MORE SHARE
Bill aims to enact tax credits to support biobased chemicals Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-N.J., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., on Dec. 4 introduced the Renewable Chemicals Act, which aims to create tax credits to support the production of biobased chemicals and investments in production facilities. READ MORE SHARE
	Drax to sell gas assets, will use proceeds on biomass initiatives Drax on Dec. 15 announced it has reached an agreement to sell its natural gas-fueled power generation assets. The company said it will use the proceeds from the sale to develop its biomass supply chain and support its plans to become carbon negative. READ MORE SHARE
UK white paper says BECCS, RNG will help meet net zero goal The U.K. government on Dec. 14 published a white paper that describes how the country will clean up its energy system and reach net zero emissions by 2050. BECSS and RNG will play an integral role in reaching that goal. READ MORE SHARE
Timelines released for EPA’s RFS, E15 label and landfill rules The White House OMB on Dec. 9 published its Fall 2020 Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, which provides updated timelines for U.S. EPA regulatory actions of interest to the biofuel and bioenergy industries. READ MORE SHARE
Power plant on Reunion Island to be converted to biomass A 108-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant located on an island in the Indian Ocean located approximately 500 miles east of Madagascar will soon be converted to biomass, according to France-based power producer Albioma. READ MORE SHARE
EPA changes how it considers costs, benefits of CAA rules The U.S. EPA on Dec. 9 released a final rule that changes the way the agency will consider the costs and benefits of all significant Clean Air Act rulemakings. The EPA said the impacted rulemakings will be accompanied by a benefit-cost analysis. READ MORE SHARE
Vanguard opens Massachusetts organics recycling facility Vanguard Renewables has opened a facility in Massachusetts that will depackage and process expired goods, off-spec batches, or unsafe to eat food and beverage products. The extracted food is then transferred to one of the company's AD facilities. READ MORE SHARE
Atlantic Power announces PPA extension for Ontario biomass plant Atlantic Power Corp. announced on Dec. 8 a one-year extension of the power purchase agreement for its biomass-fired Calstock power plant in Ontario and a final settlement of the insurance claim for its Cadillac plant, a biomass facility in Michigan. READ MORE SHARE
Highland closes $135M capital partnership with Orion Energy Highland Pellets LLC has announced a strategic capital partnership with Orion Energy Partners L.P. to fund the expansion and upgrade of its existing wood pellet facility in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and provide capital for growth initiatives. READ MORE SHARE