News

PureVision Technology, a Colorado, US-based biorefinery developer, will scale up its biorefining technology at an industrial site in Boardman, Oregon owned by biorefinery developer ZeaChem. PureVision's patented biorefining technology takes in raw biomass, such as corn stalks, wheat straw and industrial hemp, and produces sugars, pulp, lignin and other value-added materials for making thousands…
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Agricultural biotechnology company Ceres has announced that its biotech sugarcane traits have been advanced to the next stage of testing ahead of schedule due to positive data from initial field evaluations under tropical conditions in Latin America. Leading product candidates are currently being multiplied for wider-scale field evaluations which are scheduled to begin in May and June…
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Energy company Fortum has announced that it is planning to build a new multi-fuel combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Zabrze, Poland. The total value of the investment is approximately €200 million. Commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2018, providing district heating to some 70,000 households in Zabrze and Bytom. The new plant, which will replace the existing…
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In Denmark, DONG Energy is converting the last CHP unit at its Avedøre Power Station from coal to wood pellets. The unit will be operational from 2016, providing heat for 65,000 households in the Greater Copenhagen area. From Q3 next year, Avedøre Power Station – the largest power station in Denmark – will be able to generate heat based entirely on wood pellets and straw…
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Bulk materials handling company Saxlund International and Axis Industries have announced two new biomass combustion projects to deliver combined heat and power (CHP) for customers in Estonia and Lithuania valued at €78 million. Under the agreement, Axis Industries will be responsible for full turnkey project delivery, covering design, installation and commissioning, and incorporating…
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Greenleaf Power, an owner and operator of renewable energy power plants, has entered into an agreement to acquire Plainfield Renewable Energy. Plainfield Renewable Energy has a net electricity generation capacity of approximately 37.5MW. It is capable of providing baseload renewable energy for as many as 280,000 homes. The facility, which first became operational in December 2013, uses biomass as…
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Drax Biomass has appointed Peter Madden as its CEO of US operations. Madden brings nearly 30 years' experience in the forestry industry and will play a leadership role as Drax's workforce and investment in the US grows. Madden will guide the overall strategy and oversee day-to-day operations in the US. Madden most recently served as the VP of renewable energy and supply chain for Plum Creek…
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Clean energy company Blue Sphere has started building its first waste-to-energy project in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Blue Sphere facility will produce 5.2MW of clean energy from uneaten food that would normally end up in local landfills. That electricity will then be sold to Duke Energy to provide power to local homes and businesses. According to the National Resource Defense Council, an…
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The Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) has announced the appointment of Julia Marton-Lefèvre as the chairman of the new board being established to provide advice to the SBP. Marton-Lefèvre has been prominent in the scientific and environmental community and has recently stepped down as director general of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) following eight…
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Idaho, US-based Centennial Renewable Energy (CRE) has signed agreements to purchase land for its first wood pellet project in the state and is now commencing engineering design with its lead design build contractor Dome Technology. CRE is building a 160,000 tonne per year wood pellet plant in the heart of the Idaho wood basket to produce pellets to the ENplus A2 standard. Following the completion…
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UK Green Investment Bank (GIB) and Irish electricity utility Electricity Supply Board (ESB) have made a combined commitment to invest £70 million (€95 million) in a new £190 million renewable power facility at the Port of Tilbury, Essex. GIB and ESB are each committing £35 million in a combination of equity and shareholder loans, with an additional £2 million…
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The Sustainable Biomass Partnership (SBP) has launched the SBP Framework to representatives of the EU Institutions at an event in Brussels. The Framework consists of standards and independent certification procedures which together provide a tool enabling users of woody biomass for energy production to demonstrate the legal and sustainable sourcing of its feedstock material in compliance with…
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The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved $21 million (€19 million) in grants for energy innovation and efficiency programmes. Almost 12 of these projects, including one to convert forest residues to electricity and another to turn dairy manure into biogas, were funded through four key grant and loan programmes. Under the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) scheme, four…
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Cleanergy, an energy solution provider headquartered in Sweden, has installed one of its combined heat and power (CHP) systems at a wastewater treatment plant in Slovenia. The system, which comprises Cleanergy's GasBox – the centrepiece of its CHP technology – has been deployed at the Jesenice plant in the north west of the country and is now generating heat and electricity from dirty…
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