Denmark-headquarted energy supplier Dong Energy is offering UK business customers the opportunity to choose renewable electricity at no additional premium to traditional 'brown energy' sources. Brown energy is energy that comes from conventional fossil fuels, such as oil or coal.   In a statement, Dong Energy said that it will cover additional costs... [Read More]

The Bio-Based and Biodegradable Industries Association (BBIA) has written to the Council of the European Union recommending changes to the Circular Economy Package (CEP) to be made regarding biowaste, organic recycling and green procurement.  In the letter, addressed to Melanie Schultz van Haegen, the President of the European Council of Environment Ministers... [Read More]

The global biomass power market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 6.5% until 2022 due to government support, according to a new report by Transparency Market Research. The market research agency published a study entitled Biomass power generation. According to the report, the biomass power generation market will increase from a valuation... [Read More]

Covanta, a US waste management firm, has announced that the company’s biomass assets have been idled and this has negatively impacted on its first quarter revenue results for its energy division. In a statement, Covanta said: “Energy revenue from non-energy-from-waste (EfW) operations decreased by $13 million, primarily driven by an $11 million decrease... [Read More]

The UK’s largest renewable energy trade association, the Renewable Energy Association (REA), has urged the UK government to support the biomass heat industry. The trade body recently responded to a consultation on reforms to the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) subsidy, which closed earlier this week. In a statement, the REA said that if changes to the RHI policy were... [Read More]

A UK anaerobic digestion (AD) energy farm in Hampshire has secured £13 million (€16.7m) of funding from the HSBC bank to expand. Andover-based Yelspa of Apsley Farms will use the HSBC funding to expand its AD plant, which will capture CO2 to use in the food and beverage industry. Yelpsa comprises of a 1,050ac farming operation in the heart of Hampshire and,... [Read More]

The government of the Dominican Republic has inaugurated a 30MW biomass plant, the first one connected to the country’s National Interconnected Electric System (SENI). The San Pedro BioEnergy co-generation plant uses sugarcane bagasse as feedstock, and its construction was carried out by Spain's Cobra Group over a period of two years. Empresa... [Read More]

Weltec Biopower, a bioenergy developer from Germany, is working to complete two anaerobic digestion projects in the UK, one in Northern Ireland and one England. Weltec is currently building a 500kW plant for an agricultural enterprise near Strabane, Northern Ireland. The plant's two stainless steel digesters (3,573m³ and 4,903m³) will be fed with 24,500 tonnes... [Read More]

Xylem, a water technology company, has launched a new biogas support system – the Flygt BIS 1 biogas support system - specially adapted for the wall-mounting of submersible mixers in biogas digesters. “Biogas digesters have a sealed cover which means accessing the tank to change the mixer position is difficult,” said Eilert Balssen, market manager Biogas... [Read More]

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said it lent more than £1 billion to support UK customers’ sustainable energy projects in 2015, more than doubling lending from 2014 in a third consecutive year of growth for the sector. The record £1bn confirms RBS’s position as the largest lender to the UK renewable energy sector and comes as the bank ramps up... [Read More]

Canada-based wood pellet producer Viridis Energy is up for sale. The company had earlier failed to meet a lender's deadline to pay debts owed by one of its subsidiaries. Viridis appointed US biomass industry consultancy FutureMetrics as the sales representative of the company and its three subsidiaries. In a statement, FutureMetrics said that the company will either be... [Read More]

Energy giant Drax faced protests during its annual general meeting in London over its use of public subsidies to support its coal and wood-burning power station. Protesters came to the Drax power station site near Selby, North Yorkshire on 20 April, 2015. They also campaigned outside the company’s AGM in London on the same date, with banners stating ‘axe... [Read More]

Waste management firm Veolia has unveiled a new technology to help wastewater treatment sites increase the amount of biogas output they produce through the anaerobic digestion (AD) process. Wastewater treatment plants process large amounts of sludge through anaerobic digestion, AD, with the resulting biogas used to generate electricity using combined heat and power, CHP,... [Read More]

The UK has the potential to increase its production of biomethane in the future and improve resource efficiency, according to a report published by the Renewable Energy Association (REA). In the report, the trade body said that the UK could produce the equivalent of more than 45 liquified natural gas (LNG) by tankers' worth of biomethane, or 40 TWh, per year by 2035. By... [Read More]

Finnish technology firm Valmet will supply a wood pellet heating plant to electricity firm Helen Oy's Salmisaari power plant. The wood pellet plant will enable Helen to increase the use of bio fuels in district heat production in Helsinki. The new plant helps the city of Helsinki to meet its aim of increasing its production of renewable energy. The start-up of the heating... [Read More]

Finnish utility Fortum has called for a clear EU-level sustainability criteria for biomass and a transition to a market-driven system in place of complex subsidy systems. The state-run firm unveiled its views in its latest Energy Review series. Fortum said the uncertainty regarding biomass-related regulatory policy has increased in the EU, which adds instability to the... [Read More]