As the primary component of natural gas, methane is a common, problematic by product of oil drilling. A greenhouse gas 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the course of a century, methane is a costly challenge for the energy industry. Piping it from remote areas is expensive, so companies burn off about a third of the gas they produce in bright flares that can... [Read More]

Nine EU Member States have asked the European Commission (EC) for permission to pollute above national limits set in EU law, according to the European Environmental Bureau (EBB). Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Ireland and Luxembourg have all asked for the limits that should have been met in 2015 to be raised so that they no longer appear to... [Read More]

Bioenergy can play a role in reducing the risk of forest fires, according to a video recently published on the European Forest Institute’s website. Across the world, forest fires devastate large areas of forest every year. In 2017, the tragic trend has been seen in forest fires in France, the USA and Portugal. In its new video, the EFI looks at the factors behind... [Read More]

Germany-headquartered EEW Energy from Waste has been awarded a contract to build and operate an energy-from-waste plant in the Polish city of Gdansk by the city’s publicly-owned waste management company, Zaklad Utylizacyjny (ZUT). Bernard M. Kemper, CEO of Chinese-owned German firm, EEW, described the successful participation in the tender process as a milestone... [Read More]

Japan-based Sumitomo Corp. has acquired 47.6% of the shares of the British Columbia-based wood pellet manufacturer Pacific BioEnergy Corp (PBEC). and made its entry into the wood pellet manufacturing business in Canada.   Wood pellets, a biomass fuel produced by pulverising and compressing dried wood fibres, have been garnering attention for their low-environmental... [Read More]

The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), the UK’s technology innovation provider for process manufacturing, announced that the SeaGas collaboration has successfully harvested a 20-tonne batch of seaweed, the largest harvest of farmed seaweed in the UK to date. The SeaGas project, funded jointly between Innovate UK and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research... [Read More]

The Straus Family Creamery in Marin County, California, has announced the launch of the ‘first’ full-scale electric truck powered by biomethane created from cow manure. California dairy farmer Straus Family is a pioneer in organic dairy and sustainable agriculture. The new truck is the next step in the dairy’s quest to show that it can be carbon positive,... [Read More]

New insights have been gained into a unique system some fungi use to digest and recycle wood. Remarkably, a new study suggests that this unusual mechanism does not involve the use of enzymes, the usual accelerators of chemical reactions. Microbiologist Barry Goodell first discovered the unique system twenty years ago. However, although three orders of ‘brown rot’... [Read More]

Philippines-based property development firm MRC Allied and China-based engineering group Guangdong Power Engineering Co. (GPEC) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore opportunities in the renewable energy sector. “The purpose of the MOU is to confirm that both parties have an interest in developing renewable-energy projects in the Philippines... [Read More]

New research from Rice University claims biochar from recycled waste boosts crop growth and reduces health costs by helping clean the air of pollutants. Scientists from the university have concluded that widespread use of biochar in agriculture could significantly reduce health care costs, particularly for those living in urban areas close to farmland. The research was... [Read More]

The US Environmental Protection Agency has invited the San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC) to apply for a $625 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan. SFPUC’s project focuses on wastewater treatment system upgrades. San Francisco’s 60-year-old solids treatment facility will be replaced with upgraded infrastructure that... [Read More]

Lorries using the UK’s first gas filling station emitted 84% less carbon dioxide (CO2) than equivalent diesel vehicles, a newly released study claims. The UK’s biggest gas network, Cadent, commissioned independent analysis of the first 14 months of operation of the fuelling station, operated by CNG Fuels at Leyland, Lancashire. The first station on the high... [Read More]

The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) has called for the UK government to make buses and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) fuelled by biomethane central to its Clean Air Strategy, joining a growing push for biomethane to become a key part of the UKs drive to clean up its fuel sources. The call comes as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs... [Read More]

Recycling food waste through anaerobic digestion could help save a single county millions of pounds a year, it’s been claimed. If all residents in the county of Surrey, UK, put their food waste in their separate recycling bin instead of the general waste, the county would save more than £3 million. The council claims that it costs half as much to recycle food... [Read More]

Biomethane must be included in the UK government’s Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), according to Clearfleau. An article on the anaerobic digestion specialist’s website argues that bioenergy has a “key” role to play in the further decarbonisation of the UK’s food and beverage sector. It calls for the previously “non-committal”... [Read More]

The UK’s renewable energy industry, including heat, power and transport, employed a record 125,940 people in 2015/16, according to a new report. The report is called REView 2017 and is the sector’s authoritative annual publication. The number of jobs grew by 2.5% between 2014/15 and 2015/16, a significant decline in growth from two years previous when growth... [Read More]