UK-based Essex County Council has announced plans to explore the delivery of a combined heat and power (CHP) biomass boiler facility to treat wood collected at its network of household recycling centres. The authority is currently seeking expressions of interest from parties within Essex able to maximise use of 6 to 10 MWt of heat produced by a CHP boiler. The facility... [Read More]

A new method of carbon storage and monitoring, which can determine the origin of a CO2 sample by analysing its chemical fingerprint, is to be used for a leading research project. Designed to monitor and ensure the safe storage of industrial greenhouse gas emissions, the new method will aid the development of carbon capture and storage technology, which stores the carbon... [Read More]

Researchers have made an unexpected discovery concerning methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR), the only enzyme known to produce methane. Methane, a greenhouse gas with a global warming impact 30 times greater than carbon, is produced from both geological and biological sources, including from a group of microorganisms called methanogens. These microscopic organisms produce... [Read More]

Power giant Drax has announced that its CEO, Dorothy Thompson, will step down from her post after 12 years in the role. The company’s current finance chief Will Gardiner will succeed Thompson who will step down from the post and leave the group at the end of 2017. Drax chairman, Philip Cox, said: "We are delighted Will is to become Chief Executive. He has been a... [Read More]

Operations have started at a new biogas upgrading plant (BUP) in Guymon, Oklahoma. Operated by High Plains Bioenergy, a subsidiary of Seaboard Foods, the new plant produces pipeline quality renewable natural gas, which is collected from the biogas collected from the wastewater treatment system at the nearby Seaboard Foods pork processing plant. Previously, Seaboard Foods... [Read More]

BC Organics, developer of a bioenergy system that will produce renewable gas from dairy farm manure and other waste, has received a conditional $15 million (€12.5 million) Focus on Energy grant from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC). The Brown County, Wisconsin based project will reduce the need to landspread raw manure, protect sensitive groundwater... [Read More]

Lethbridge Biogas in Alberta, Canada is increasing its waste division stream by taking advantage of thermal hydrolysis technology from PlanET Biogas Solutions. For the last four years the 2.8 MW biogas plant in Lethbridge, Alberta has produced enough electrical energy to power 2,800 homes while diverting 120,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill each year. The facility... [Read More]

A new study has assessed the environmental benefits of various waste-to-energy production pathways which avoid the emission of methane and other harmful pollutants. Methane gas has a global warming impact 30 times higher than carbon. Organic waste such as yard trimmings, paper, wood and food produces millions of tons of methane emissions at landfills in the US each year.... [Read More]

The European Biogas Association (EBA) has hosted its first dedicated to power-to-methane workshop in Brussels in joint cooperation with Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) and the European Renewable Gas Registry (ERGaR). The event, which took place on 6 September, 2017, showcased the latest technological developments around Europe and it formalised the launch of a common vision... [Read More]

The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA), the UK trade body for the anaerobic digestion industry, has welcomed the Department for Transport’s response to its consultation on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, declaring biomethane to be ‘perfectly positioned’ to meet increased targets for renewable fuels. In its consultation, the... [Read More]

Environmental advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has responded to criticism of its Money to Burn II report, which claimed that solar and wind can reliably supply the UK’s needs for new electricity capacity and is more cost-effective than biomass. New economic modelling, commissioned by the NRDC and executed by Vivid Economics, claimed that by... [Read More]

The UK government should use a whole system cost analysis to evaluate the costs of different energy projects, taking into account intermittency and system integration costs, according to trade associations Biomass UK and the US Industrial Pellet Association (USIPA). The trade bodies have submitted a white paper entitled ‘Bigger picture, lower cost’ to Professor... [Read More]

UK power giant Drax has started consultations on long-term options to repower up to two of its coal-fired units to gas and build battery storage at Drax Power Station. The company's plans to repurpose units to gas were announced in June and are part of an ongoing research and development project. The options could create up to 3.6GW of new gas generation capacity and 200MW... [Read More]

Spanish scientists have released a new study analysing the energy efficiency of furfural biogas. An organic compound produced through the atmospheric-plasma treatment of a variety of agricultural byproducts such as corncobs, oat, wheat bran and saw dust, furfural is considered a promising alternative fuel candidate. For the biogas to be considered for use on a large-scale... [Read More]

SBP, the unique certification system for woody biomass used in industrial, large-scale energy production, has announced the addition of a new member company – MGT Teesside. The application for membership was approved at the SBP Board meeting held on 12 September 2017. MGT Teesside is building the Tees Renewable Energy Plant, a 299MW combined heat and power (CHP)... [Read More]

InnoEnergy, Europe’s sustainable energy innovation engine, has announced the cut-off date for applications to its 2017 Investment Round for supporting and launching revolutionary clean energy innovations. Cleantech innovators looking for investment before the end of the year must apply by 23 October, 2017, to receive their support in time. According to InnoEnergy,... [Read More]