Coming into effect on 22 May, the legislation will increase the amount available to biogas and biomethane producers under the scheme and impose new feedstock requirements. The Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA) has been told that legislation has passed that will restore higher tariff levels under the Non-domestic Renewable Heat Incentive. The tariffs... [Read More]

The Bruks Siwertell Group has been established following the signing of a joint venture between bulk materials handling specialists JCE Invest and Cargotec. Siwertell and Bruks Holding will both be owned by the joint venture. Cargotec will own 48% of the shares in Bruks Siwertell Group while JCE Invest will own the remaining 52%. "Together Bruks and Siwertell will have... [Read More]

A Ugandan and German team called ‘Agali Awamu’ has developed an ‘innovative and feasible’ solution for electricity and biogas supply in Uganda. The project was facilitated by the lab of tomorrow, an organisation run by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) formed to encourage ‘the private sector to engage... [Read More]

A new report, commissioned by Cadent and carried out by Ernst & Young has examined what market framework, mechanisms and incentives would be needed to roll out bioSNG (bio-substitute natural gas) plants across the UK. According to a Cadent statement, the newly published report aims to ‘kick start an exploration of what foundations need to be in place to facilitate... [Read More]

Arizona Public Service (APS) in the United States has issued a Forest Bioenergy Resources Request for Proposals (RFP). APS is seeking proposals for projects that utilise biomass feedstocks from high-risk forest lands in Northern Arizona to generate capacity and energy, pipeline quality biogas, or ‘other suitable products’. APS will accept proposals for projects... [Read More]

Bloomberg is reporting that ValueAct Capital Management has bought $20 million (€16.7 million) in Enviva shares. Enviva’s market capitalisation is around $772 million (€647.6 million).The deal was made through the hedge fund’s socially and environmentally focused ValueAct Spring Fund. The fund has previously invested in the power generator AES and... [Read More]

Major UK pub company JD Wetherspoon has signed an agreement with Veolia in a bid to increase the company’s food recycling. Resource management company Veolia has been appointed to increase J D Wetherspoon’s recycling and divert all its food waste from landfill. The company’s food waste stream will be used to produce green energy through anaerobic digestion. According... [Read More]

Sweetwater Energy, a Rochester, NY-based biotechnology company and Estonia-based AS Graanul Invest, is going to build a commercial-scale integrated biorefinery that will produce cellulosic sugars and ‘highly pure’ lignin from 50,000 tons of local hardwood each year. In addition, the plant will allow the two companies to work with corporate partners to create... [Read More]

A major waste-to-energy project is a step closer to realisation, with the site’s 21.5MW biomass facility now generating low carbon energy. Bioenergy Infrastructure Group (BIG), a specialist investor and operator in the biomass and waste-to-energy sector, is working to establish a portfolio of bioenergy facilities capable of diverting 1 million tonnes of waste each... [Read More]

Biomass company LC Energy has partnered with Berkshire College of Agriculture and Thames Valley Berkshire Local Enterprise Partnership to deliver the facility. The collaboration is an effort to address the nationwide skills shortage in the renewable energy sector. The opening of The Energy Centre at Berkshire College of Agriculture (BCA) is intended to enable students... [Read More]

CNG Fuels is reporting that demand for ‘100% renewable biomethane’ from its refuelling station in Leyland, UK has more than tripled in the last year. The facility was first unveiled in March 2016, with CNG Fuels stating at the time it was the facility of its kind in the UK. Capable of refuelling more than 500 heavy-duty vehicles per days, the facility also... [Read More]

New research is suggesting that advanced anaerobic digestion and reverse osmosis filtration in agriculture could be leaving behind ‘concerning levels’ of antibiotic residues. According to the World Health Organisation: “Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response... [Read More]

A 23 April policy statement announced that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will consider all biomass used for energy production carbon neutral. In what it called a pragmatic approach, the EPA will consider biomass a carbon neutral source of power in future decisions. However, it added that the policy statement ‘does not represent a final agency action’. “To... [Read More]

The British Columbia, Canada based Biomass Secure Power (BSP) has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a power company located in the United States. The MoU became effective on 18 April. Both companies are engaged in the production of renewable heat and power by using sustainable fuels in their existing infrastructure. The MoU states that Biomass Secure... [Read More]

Drax CEO Will Gardiner told Reuters April 20 that the company plans to cut the cost of the electricity it generates by a third over the next decade. The goal is to reduce the company’s dependency on subsidies. Improvements cited by Gardiner are more efficient turbines and cheaper wood pellets. A spokesperson for Drax told Bioenergy Insight: “We’re looking... [Read More]

The scaling up of renewable energy production needs to be drastically accelerated if the world is to meet the decarbonisation and climate change mitigation goals set out in the Paris agreements, according to a report from the International Renewable Energy Agency. Published earlier this month, IRENA’s Global Energy Transformation: A Roadmap to 2050 argues that... [Read More]