Raise your glass in a toast to some researchers from Down Under, as they have figured out how to make ethanol out of some of the leftovers from wine-making. University of Adelaide researchers in Australia showed they could make about 100 gallons of ethanol by fermenting a ton of grape marc – the leftover skins, stalks and seeds from wine-making. …
PHG Energy to Build Waste-to-Energy Plant in TN
PHG Energy (PHGE) will be constructing a new biomass gasification plant that will convert more than 30 tons of composted material per day into thermal energy and biochar. Sevier Sold Waste (SSWI), located in Pigeon Forge, TN, contracted the PHG Energy. SSWI operates a garbage composting plant that processes more than 10,0000 tons per year from the Sevierville, Gatlinburg, Pigeon …
U of North Dakota Gets Biomass Research Funding
Federal funding to the tune of $250,000 is headed to the University of North Dakota for research to study biomass as a biofuel and solar energy absorption by nanoparticles. North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp welcomed the research dollars. “North Dakota has a rich heritage of conservation and we must continue to develop and use our natural resources responsibly,” said …
Scottish Whisky Used to Power Homes
Scottish Whisky is being used to power homes. Well, not exactly the whisky, but the by-products, such as energy, as being used to power communities. The project, The Rothes CoRDe, part-owned by The Combination of Rothes Distillers, is leading the distilleries program. “A number of whisky companies are part of an industry consortium looking at sustainable ways of processing by-products …
Michigan State IDs Water Usage by Biomass Crops
Researchers at Michigan State University have identified the amount of water used by some key biomass crops. This article from the school says the study, titled, “Comparative water use by maize, perennial crops, restored prairie and poplar trees in the U.S. Midwest,” recently published by Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), lead authored by Michigan State University professor Steve Hamilton, …
USDA Offers Incentives for Biomass for Energy
Enrollment is underway for farmers and forest landowners to get financial assistance for growing new sources of biomass for energy or biobased products. This U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA) news release says the money comes from the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). Biomass energy facilities or groups of producers may submit proposals for new BCAP project areas. Proposals will be accepted …
Biomass to Grow in Biofuels & Other Sectors
Right now, most producers of power from biomass are struggling to become cost competitive compared to non-renewable resources including coal and natural gas. But that could soon change. A new analysis by Taiyou Research says biomass energy production, as well as bioproduct production, will grow, thanks to benefits from national level programs, energy efficiency incentives, and financial incentives targeting the …
Need Biomass? There’s an App for That
Genera Energy has developed a biomass app to use as a crop planning and learning tool for biomass farmers and landowners. The Biomass app has multiple features including a biomass crop library complete with detailed information, photos and range maps for the most utilized biomass crops in the U.S., along with the ability to overlap crop ranges in a live, …
New Holland Partners with SUNY on Biomass Project
New Holland Agriculture is partnering with the State University of New York (SUNY) on a U.S. Department of Energy funded research project to develop ways to reduce the cost of delivering biomass for refinement. New Holland Agriculture will provide SUNY with an FR9080 self-propelled forage harvester with 130FB coppice header for use in the project. The forage harvester and header …
Mid-Year Renewable Energy Check-Up
Heading in to the second half of 2015, renewable energy accounted for nearly 70 percent of new electrical generation for the firs six months as reported by the latest “Energy Infrastructure Update” report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Office of Energy Projects. The report finds wind accounts for more than half (50.64%) of the 1,969 MW of new …