Biomass News

Electric utility Nelson Hydro has suspended efforts to develop a district heating system in the downtown city of Nelson, British Columbia. High construction costs, retrofits to heat customer buildings and the supply lines to connect them have made the project ‘uneconomical’ for the foreseeable future, the city said. Nelson Hydro, founded in 1896, is the oldest electric utility in…
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Bioenergy Europe has welcomed the launch of the European Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ package, establishing a series of proposals aimed at fostering the EU’s race towards 55% greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions by 2030, but warned that the Commission has ignored several of its ‘red flags’ regarding the biomass sector. While Europe is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, the…
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ArcelorMittal’s Sestao facility in Spain will become the world’s first full-scale zero-carbon emissions steel plant, using sustainable biomass or green hydrogen. The development is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed with the Spanish Government that will see an investment of €1 billion in the construction of a green hydrogen direct reduced iron (DRI) plant at its facility…
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The US Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA) said it is ‘deeply disappointed’ by CNN’s portrayal of the biomass industry. Its criticism follows a report by CNN that allegedly portrayed the scientific community as being ‘in uniform opposition’ to biomass, citing a number of critical academics. However, it excluded assessments by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change…
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CPL Industries, a UK manufacturer and distributor of smokeless fuels, has partnered with Severn Trent Green Power to transform food waste into low-carbon solid fuels used for heating. Using hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) processing, CPL converts the by-product from Severn Trent’s food waste processing to produce low-carbon fuels. Across its waste sites, Severn Trent processes over…
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AVG Group Sarl (AVG), a climate change investment firm based in Norway, has invested $2.9 million (€2.4 million) in pellet manufacturer Arbaflame. Arbaflame has developed a unique pellet using bio-feedstock (sawdust) that can supplement or replace coal in boilers and power plants. The pellets allows coal plant operators to continue power production more sustainably and keep employees working…
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EDF has put an end to its Ecocombust project, which would have developed a new waste wood-based fuel as an alternative to coal. According to EDF, the conditions to continue the project were not met. The decision to cancel the plans was made for two reasons – the cost of the project, which would not make it possible to guarantee an attractive price for the final product and the recent…
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Valmet Oyj will merge with Neles Corporation, a Finnish company offering flow control solutions for process industries. The new company, operating under the name Valmet Oyj, will enable Valmet to offer a stronger and more comprehensive offering to its customers, including energy (and bioenergy), board, paper, tissue and pulp technologies, flow control solutions, automation systems and…
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The US Department of Energy (DOE) has allocated $52.5 million (€44.3 million) to fund 31 projects to advance next-generation clean hydrogen technologies, including two biomass-to-hydrogen ventures. The fund forms part of the DOE’s recently announced Hydrogen Energy Earthshot initiative, designed to reduce the cost and accelerate breakthroughs in the clean hydrogen sector. Hydrogen is a…
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Valmet will deliver a complete turnkey biopower plant to produce green electricity and heat in the city of Salzburg, Austria. The order was placed by Salzburg AG, an Austrian energy and technology company. The plant will be commissioned and started up in August 2023. “We are constructing the Siezenheim II plant in Salzburg to increase the share of CO2-neutral district heat production to…
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Greenvolt - Energias Renováveis, wholly owned by Altri, SGPS, and fund manager Equitix have acquired all shares in Tilbury Green Power Holdings in Essex. Tilbury Green Power is the owner of a fully operational Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC) and Aalborg Energie Technik (AET)-built 41.6 MW renewable energy waste wood-fired power facility in the Port of Tilbury, Essex.…
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Drax Group has chosen Biomass Engineering & Equipment (BE&E) to supply material handling, layout engineering, and mechanical installation for its three new pellet plants in Arkansas, US. The systems BE&E will manufacture for the projects include bulk receiving bins, disc screeners, SMART Conveyors, SMART Containers, and covered pellet load-out stations. BE&E’s scope also…
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The UK’s Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) has published a new standard for the maintenance of biomass boilers. The publication follows months of industry engagement to design this new standard to help improve the air quality of emissions from biomass boilers. The standard was commissioned following the UK Government’s Clean Air Strategy 2018, Urban Biomass Consultation, and…
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Drax has agreed to acquire a 20% minority interest in Alabama Pellets, the joint venture (JV) which owns the Demopolis and Aliceville pellet plants, increasing its total interest in the firm to 90%. Drax will acquire the stake from The Westervelt Company for $29.7 million (€25 million) cash consideration. The move, expected to be completed in July, will increase its interest in Alabama…
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