While turning biomass into energy has been most of the talk, some researchers are looking at turning biomass into a more valuable product: plastic. This article from the University of Wisconsin-Madison says researchers at that school, along with scientists from the University of Minnesota and Argonne National Laboratory, will use a $3.3 million U.S. Department of Energy grant to explore …
Tanzania Mini-Grid Project Underway
Continental Energy Corporation, an emerging international energy investment company, announced that its Tanzanian affiliate, Ruaha River Power Company Ltd. has begun construction of the Phase-I development of its Malolo Mini-Grid. They have also begun signing up first subscribers from a waiting list of 400 customers. The Mini-Grids are being installed in an area surrounding the village of Malolo and three …
How to Establish Biobased Production Chains
The Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RV0), Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research has developed a method that can help companies and government authorities create biobased chains, from source materials to end products. The method was developed out of a need for companies to develop successful production chains for the production of biofuels or biomaterials from biomass-based resources. According to senior scientist …
Is there Enough Feedstock for Gen 2 Ethanol?
Last week Biofuels Digest Editor Jim Lane posed the question: Is there really enough affordable feedstock for the second generation ethanol wave? According to Robert Kozak of Atlantic Biomass Conversions an co-founder of Advanced Biofuels USA, “Yes, if we realistically address the financial realities of feedstock producers and feedstock buyers.” He reviewed the current weaknesses in current biomass development philosophy …
Biomass-to-Biofuel Plant Gets USDA Loan Guarantee
A Louisiana biomass-to-biofuel operation received a $91 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This news release from USDA says the agency will back the loan under the Biorefinery Assistance Program to finish building the Cool Planet plant at the Port of Alexandria in Louisiana. The Cool Planet facilities will produce approximately 8 million to 10 million …
Arizona Pellet Fuel Maker Gains Quality Standard
An Arizona company that makes wood pellets and biomass into residential and commercial-grade pellet fuel gained an important quality acccreditation. Show Low, Arizona’s Forest Energy Corporation is the sixth company to qualify for the Pellet Fuels Institute’s (PFI) Standards Program, a third-party accreditation program providing specifications for those types of fuels. “We are thrilled to welcome Forest Energy Corporation into …
ReEnergy Lands $289 Mil Biomass Plant Contract
Biomass power plant builder ReEnergy Holdings LLC landed a nearly $289 million contract to provide renewable energy for the U.S. Army’s Fort Drum in upstate New York, home to 37,000 soldiers and family members and employing nearly 4,000 civilians. This news release from ReEnergy says it’s the largest renewable energy project in the history of the U.S. Army. “This is …
IRENA: Biomass Could be 60% of World’s Renewable Energy
Biomass could make up 60 percent of the world’s renewable energy sources – one-fifth of the globe’s total energy supply – by the year 2030. That’s according to a new report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), which forecasts a major role for modern, sustainable biomass technologies in the report titled, “Global Bioenergy Supply and Demand Projections for the …
Bugs Way Ahead in Biomass-to-Energy Production
While scientists have been working for years to come up with the best ways to break down biomass for energy production, termites perfected the technique more than 30 million years ago. A new study from the University of Copenhagen and the Beijing Genomics Institute show that termites have been able to use fungus and gut bacteria contributing enzymes for final …
UK Firm Fires Up Straw-Fired Energy Plant
A renewable energy investment firm has opened a 38 megawatt straw-fired plant in the United Kingdom. Glennmont Partners announced the start of operations at the Sleaford biomass facility. The plant was built by a consortium of Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor A/S and Burmeister and Wain Energy A/S. Glennmont purchased 100% of the equity in the project in December 2011, …