The Oregon Forest Biomass Working Group has issued a forest biomass strategy which includes four key initiatives. Made up of more than 40 stakeholders, the FBWG believes the measures will help expand the state's biomass industry.
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency and the Northwest Territories government have invested over $5.7 million to create opportunities for a sustainable woody biomass industry in Canada's Northwest Territories.
A 500,000 metric ton pellet production facility under construction in Virginia, and the $90 million it will cost to complete the project says a lot about the positive link between economic development and wood pellets.
In an effort to reduce overall heating costs for its larger Alaskan facilities, the U.S. Coast Guard is making efforts to convert from heating oil to wood pellets and is collaborating with the USDA's Forest Service to further progress.
Loretta Daniel, the director for regional business and the innovation center at Murray State University in Kentucky, recently provided an update on the West Kentucky AgBioworks Initaitve to local and federal authorities.
Maryland-based Enviva LP broke ground on a new 500,000 ton-per-year pellet production facility in Southampton County, Va. The plant represents the biggest economic development opportunity in the county over the past 20 years.
The USDA announced payments to 125 biofuel producers on July 27, including several biogas and pellet companies. The awards were made under the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels, which was established in the 2008 Farm Bill.
The USDA and the U.S. DOE announced they are putting $41 million toward 13 projects focused on developing sustainable biomass feedstock sources and increasing the availability of renewable fuels and biobased products.
The U.S. Forest Service has awarded a total of $4 million to 12 different wood-to-energy projects throughout the country. The majority of the projects will focus on using woody biomass for either power or thermal applications.
Something to remember for project developers contemplating natural gas or biomass.
The U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change has published levels of financial support that will be available through the Renewables Obligation for large-scale renewable electricity generators from 2013-2017.
A new report by Wood Resources International shows biomass prices dropped in the U.S. South, Northeast and West during the second quarter of 2012, primarily due to the continued fall of natural gas prices, which reached a 10 year low.
I recently received an email from a gentleman named Patrick about an upcoming Woody Biomass Field Day at Michigan State University's Forest Biomass Innovation Center, which is happening Aug. 21 in Escanaba, Mich.
Sweden-based ABioNova and Minnesota-based WoodMaster celebrated their first in a series of "Made in America" commercial wood pellet boiler system installations at a ribbon-cutting ceremony highlighted by special guest, Swedish Ambassador to the U.S.
A proposed Canadian biomass power facility shows that finance veterans believe in energy crop production.
The Ontario government announced it is moving forward with plans to convert its Atikokan Generating Station to biomass, which will be one of the largest biomass power plants in the world when complete.
A new bioenergy hub in Europe that will focus on the deployment and investigation of sustainable bioenergy sources was announced July 17 by U.K. Minister of State for Universities and Science David Willetts.
U.S. producers of wood pellets will likely need to meet or exceed sustainability standards set by the European Union for solid biofuels in order access the European export market. Two reports have recently been published that examine the issue.
We've heard both sides of the crop residue harvesting argument time and time again, but new data says that crop residue can be a responsible part of good farming management.
By a bipartisan vote of 35-11, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture has passed its version of the 2012 Farm Bill. An amendment to reinstate mandatory funding to the measure's energy title programs was rejected.
Marcus Kauffman, biomass resource specialist for the Oregon Department of Forestry, is using leftover American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars to attract investors to the biomass industry.
The U.S. House Agricultural Committee has begun marking up its draft of the 2012 Farm Bill. The mark-up is expected to last up to three days, and includes 100 amendments, one of which could restore mandatory funding to energy title programs.
Wisconsin residents and businesses that install biogas or biomass-based technology can receive up to $250,000 through a newly formed renewable energy utilities program. The program, Focus on Energy, is accepting applications until August 29, 2012.
While the drought in the U.S. is beginning to take a significant toll on some of the nation's crops, particularly in the Midwest and the Corn Belt, it seems most energy crops are hanging on, at least for now.
Our friends at FutureMetrics Inc. have released a life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) dashboard that compares pellet boilers to heating oil and natural gas boilers.
This is a special week in the U.S., a time to celebrate through numbers. Because most of us are focused on the fourth, I thought I'd play into this week's short-term obsession with numbers.
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