Wishing Seasons greeting

Wishing all our followers Seasonal Greetings and a happy new year in 2012 

Denmark invests heavily in bioenergy

By 2050 Denmark aims to be using alternative fuels and be free of fossil fuels. One step in this direction was recently taken by Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program, EDDP, which has just granted UK£194 million (€233.115 million). "We have supported a number of major projects in the bioenergy field. The projects include trades to convert biomass into gas that can be used in an engine, refined into liquid fuels or long term storage of natural gas networks. Read more ...

Difficulties creating biofuels from grass and wood chip

Some biofuel companies are finding the going hard to create biofuels from grass, woodchip, many are having to become creative to their business, but the result of this is the fact that some are having to abandon their green credentials. Gevo a major advanced biofuels company that has received millions in US government funding to develop biofuels made from cellulosic sources. It is finding that it can't use materials like woodchip and grass. Read more ...

High Court ruling on feed in tariff

Friends of the Earth along with two solar companies has won its legal challenge against the government over the decision to cut feed-in-tariff's for solar power. After only two days in court the Judge ruled that the governments plans were "legally flawed". "These botched and illegal plans have cast a huge shadow over the solar industry, jeopardising thousands of jobs." said Andy Atkins, Friends of the Earth's Executive Director. Read more ...

Europe's largest biodiesel refinery opens

Naste oil along with 150 guests were celebrating the opening of their new biodiesel refinery in the Port of Rotterdam. "Through hard work and cooperation among nearly 15 partners we have built this Europe's largest and finest renewable diesel refinery in just two years. As a location, the Port of Rotterdam has fulfilled all our expectations".

Matti Lievonen, President and CEO of Neste Oil also said "it's centrally located in terms of our product and feedstock flows as well as within close proximity to our key markets and customers in Europe. Also the other chemicals plants in the area offering numerous synergy opportunities. Talent pool in Rotterdam is absolutely first class. The government of the Netherlands as well as Dutch authorities played an important role in supporting Neste Oil's investment in a renewable fuels plant which has been one of the biggest investments in the Netherlands over the recent years,". Read more ...

NFUS calls for Scottish government on agri-renewables

Recently the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) has delivered fresh guidance to its members on developing wind energy projects. The union has also called for the Scottish government to make a start on the promised agri-renewables strategy that it promised in August 2011. “Since the commitment to the strategy in July, the list of issues around farm-based energy generation have continued to grow. They include inconsistencies and constraints in the planning system. Difficulties in getting site approval and, for wind energy, in meeting noise requirements mean that many farmers are struggling to get energy projects off the ground. Read more ...

UFOP dismiss IFPRI report

UFOP the German biofuels association has dismissed claims made in a new report that was carried out by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), into the predicted emissions that could be created by indirect land use change policy. UFOP is opposed to the adoption of ILUC factors and says more investment protection is needed for existing biodiesel plants around Europe. Read more ...

Court battle continues with Friends of the Earth

The UK government from October 31, 2011 started slashing the feed in tariff incentive payments for households and communities generating electricity through solar power by 50 percent. Friends of the Earth believe that the decision to reduce payments by 50 percent was premature, unfair and unlawful.

Since 2010 there has been about 100,000 new solar powered projects and a major increase in the number employed in this energy sector. But the decision of the UK government to slash the funding on the feed in tariff could cost 29,000 jobs in the solar industry. Read more ...

Ethanol pollution on the increase

In the rural states in the US pollution is less of a concern than in other states, but federal environmental data is showing that toxins from the ever growing ethanol industry are becoming more of an issue. During the last five years ethanol producers have become the leading emitter of carcinogens. Toxins thought too or known too cause cancer, “it is a powerful tool,” said Barbara Conklin, who oversees the TRI program for the regional EPA office. “We do want people to look at the data so the public can make better decisions in planning their communities.“ Read more ...

UK company Forth Energy urged to drop plans

A UK company has been urged to drop the controversial plans for a biomass power station at Leith, after a new report in which campaigners claimed cast fresh doubts on the viability of the proposed plant. Environmental group Friends of the Earth said Forth Energy should scrap the proposed development in the wake of the report by the influential UK Committee on Climate Change, which recommended that large-scale biomass power stations should no longer be eligible for public subsidies. Read more ...

Asia to get its first biofuel production facility

AlgaeTec Limited an advanced algae to biofuels company has announced it has signed a collaboration contract to build its first algae biofuels production facilities in Asia. The facility is to be built in Sri Lanka working with Holcim Lanka Ltd a cement and building materials company. Holcim Lanka was attracted to the AlgaeTec solution as a way of reducing its carbon footprint by channeling waste carbon dioxide into the algae growth system, and generating valuable biofuel at below market cost. Read more ...

British Gas acquires leading biomass heating company

Centrica the owners of British gas has announced that they have brought the remaining 81 percent of Econergy in a deal worth UK£6.5 million (US$10.106 million). Econergy is a market leader in biomass heating, which uses renewable energy sources for combustion to produce heat. Econergy offers a complete design, installation and energy services package to domestic properties, businesses and public sector customers. Read more ...

Biotechnology Industry Organisation calls for Tax policies

The Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) that represents more than a 1,000 biotechnology companies has approached the government to call for long term tax policies to be introduced into the US in order to increase development to commercial scale.

In order to make sure these developments are successful, incentives should be given to ‘technologies with the greatest potential to create new jobs, economic growth, energy security and environmental benefits’, BIO claims. In a letter, the Advanced Ethanol Council (AEC) asked the US government to extend the Cellulosic Biofuels Producer Tax Credit and the Special Depreciation Allowance for Cellulosic Biofuel Plant Property. Read more ...

Canada $15 million towards a waste to biofuels facility

Enerkem Inc a Canadian waste to biofuels and chemicals company have announced that Waste Management and EB Investments have invested Can$15 million (€11,139,916.9) in Enerkem Alberta Biofuels LP which is currently building a full-scale commercial facility in Edmonton, using Enerkem’s proprietary technology.

“We are glad to see our business model and exclusive technology being increasingly backed by equity investors. We are even more encouraged when these investors tell us they want to take part directly in our projects”, said Vincent Chornet, President and CEO of Enerkem. “To us, this is further validation of Enerkem’s sound strategy and strong position in the cellulosic ethanol sector.” Read more ...

Legal challenge to stop cuts in feed in tariffs

Two solar companies and Friends of the Earth are presenting their case today at the High court seeking permission to challenge the government plans to cut the feed in tariff subsidies. The court had previously ruled that this challenge could not take place, according to Friends of the Earth. But now Friends of the Earth has been given the go ahead to seek the courts permission to reverse that decision.

The Government recently launched a consultation into feed-in tariffs. In it, it proposed halving payments from December 12 - two weeks before the consultation ends. "We strongly believe Government plans to abruptly slash solar subsidies are illegal. We hope the High Court agrees to allow our case to be heard as soon as possible." said Andy Atkins, Director, Friends of the Earth. Read more ...

Algae based biofuel being tested by US Navy and Maersk

The US Navy and Maersk are testing algal based biofuel on the container ship Maersk Kalmar which is en route from Northern Europe to India. The Maersk Kalmar is a suitable candidate for testing as it has a dedicated auxiliary test engine and its fuel system has a special biofuel blending equipment and separate tanks. “The shipping industry needs to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas intensity in the coming decades.

The Maersk Kalmar

In the short term, we can gain a lot by focusing on improving fuel efficiency. In the longer term, we would like to see sustainable biofuels become a commercially available, low-carbon fuel,” said Jacob Sterling, Head of Climate and Environment at Maersk Line. Read more ...

The US biomass industry outlook 2012

2012 should be a good year for the biomass industry in the United States, with four major biomass plants to be constructed, which will be pivotal in the expansion of wood fired power industry. Along with the coal to biomass plant conversions awaiting permits in Virginia, which could set the stage for a boom in biomass fuel use. One of the big problems is that there is too much red tape from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Bob Cleaves of the Biomass Power Association. said "We'll see gains for big projects where you have a combination of local fuel supply and strong political support". "At the same time, the weak economy, lack of demand for power and plummeting natural gas prices make it difficult to continue operations of smaller plants without long-term PPAs." Read more ...

China new energy acquires 88.5 percent of Boltech

China new energy (CNE) limited has announced it has signed a letter of intent with Guangzhou Zhongke Tianyuan Regeneration Resources Engineering Co Ltd to acquire 88.5 percent of the Bengbu Boltech Bio-technology Co Ltd. “This strategic acquisition is part CNE’s ambition to provide integrated solutions to the biofuel and biochemical industries. At present, the wide use of dry active yeast in China is limiting the efficiency and performance of Chinese ethanol producers, and therefore is not economically sound. Boltech’s liquid active yeast can help our clients reduce costs and achieve superior results.” said Mr. Zhaoxing Tang, Chief Executive Officer of CNE. Read more ...

UK slash solar panel tariff by 50 percent

The tariff paid by the government of the UK is to be slashed after December 8, from 43 pence for each kilowatt-hour generated to 21 pence. An eleventh hour rush to install solar panels have been taking place trying to beat the deadline. The decision to cut the benefit has been criticised by environmental campaigners and the green energy industry, with claims the decision will cost thousands of jobs. Ministers claim the feed-in tariff was simply unaffordable at the previous level and argue the cost of photovoltaic panels have fallen since the scheme was launched. Read more ...

New energy center being develop in Plymouth

In Plymouth, England a new energy center is being developed, this new energy plant will convert 40,000 tons of waste wood into renewable energy and reducing CO2 emissions by about 16,500 tons a year. The center is the brainchild of MITIE’s Asset Management business, O-Gen UK and the Una Group. “We are delighted to be developing this energy centre in Plymouth and creating jobs in the local community. We really appreciate the support we have received from Plymouth City Council in bringing this exciting new venture to Plymouth." said Mike Tivey, Managing Director of MITIE’s Asset Management business. Read more ...

Italian scientist look at switchgrass as bioenergy feedstock

Italian scientist looked at the current knowledge on the potential of switchgrass used as a bioenergy feedstock to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their findings indicate that switchgrass can be used to contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions but further research would need to be carried out.

According to the leading author, Dr Andrea Monti, Research Scientist at the University of Bologna, Italy, “We reviewed over 100 articles on switchgrass, which found that this crop has a considerable ability to accumulate carbon in the soil compared to several other grasses, and especially row crops.

Although switchgrass has recently received a lot attention as an environmentally beneficial energy crop, it is important to consider that switchgrass had not been planted as a monoculture crop until the mid 20th century. Information needed to make long term predictions on carbon sequestration, such as land use change, carbon turnover rate, and the economic life cycle length are lacking.” Read more ...

Mexico bio jet plant for 2012

Chiapas state government of Mexico are proposing to build a bio jet fuel production plant in January 2012. This would help in perfecting the blending targets for aviation fuel for Mexican airlines to achieve. The government want one percent of renewable jet fuel to be blended with traditional aviation fuel by 2015. The plant will cost between US$40 million and US$80 million (€30-59 million) to construct. The ground breaking on the new facility could start by mid 2012. Read more ...

Producers request hearing over Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS)

Producers in the US have approached the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee to request a hearing over to discuss the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) impact on the economy. “In light of the ongoing pressures that the RFS is placing on the domestic feed grain supplies, something must be done to protect livestock and poultry producers from excessively high corn prices because of the rigid RFS compliance system,” the groups told Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D- California) and Ranking Member James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma). Read more ...

United Kingdom will meet bioenergy target

Government Committee on Climate Change (CCC) published its first Bioenergy Review, Enagri and has said the the UK will meet its target of 10 percent of its primary energy from biomass as the report recommended. Published at the end of November, the UK Biomass Directory 2012 lists every announced and operational power plant using biomass feed stocks in the UK. Enagri’s data shows that by 2020 these could produce around 130 TWh of electricity, compared with the CCC’s recommendation that bioenergy produce 200 TWh of primary energy by 2050. Read more ...

India concerns over oil lobbies challenge to biofuels

India's renewable energy ministry headed by Farooq Abdullah has expressed his concerns about the oil lobbies challenging the idea of increasing the use of biofuels. "We are thinking of making ethanol blending mandatory in the National Bio Energy mission. We hope to make this mission as successful as the national solar mission, and for this, we need to tackle issues like lack of business model, obsolete technology, awareness and connectivity in rural areas, etc." said Mr Abdullah, speaking at the Bioenergy Summit 2011, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Read more ...

Core BioFuel has produced a wood-to-fuel process

Canadian company Core Biofuels produces fuel from wood. They have developed a wood to fuel process to create high octane, benzene-free, drop in petrol. Larry Melnichuk, vice president of process design and development at Core says the technology performs better than expected’.

"The catalyst for this reaction did not produce benzene which the EPA has determined should not be present in petrol unless lower than their current criteria levels. Removing benzene is difficult and expensive and our process does not incur this cost. Utilising similar operating parameters, our reactor actually produces a gasoline superior to ExxonMobil’s well-known commercial MTG (methanol-to-gasoline) process. Read more ...

Welsh firm announces biomass plant

A renewable generation company in Wales, has announced plans to build a new 40MW capacity biomass power plant. The new plant will take about two and a half years to build but planning permission could be gained within six months. About 240,000 tons of straw will be used in the plant which could be used to power 250,000 houses. Contracts for the straw will be set up with local farmers to the tune of UK£6 million (US$9.415 million). Read more ...

Oman authorities to develop an integrated city

The project to develop a city of 100,000 residents in Duqm, Oman are looking to incorporate renewable energy into its power generation plans. The authorities in charge of the new development are looking at ways into the possibility of using alternative energy sources. H E Yahya al Jabri, president of Duqm Special Economic Zones said, "We will be conducting research and development on creating a development based on clean energy". "The special economic zone was designed to be an integrated city based on strong foundations with renewable energy to provide as much power as possible." Read more ...

FuturaGene enters China

FuturaGene a world leader in the yield and sustainability of woody crops has established its first research and development center in China. The site of the laboratory will act as the companies headquarters in China. “We have worked for a number of years through public-private partnerships to develop some of these solutions in China.

The establishment of our own facility will serve as the focal point for driving these partnerships in the local environment. Through this facility and a more direct presence, we can leverage the experience of FuturaGene and our parent Suzano in meeting significant industrial demands whilst helping to preserve natural resource inventories and reducing pressure on fragile ecosystems in China.” Read more ...

Cargill gets best investor award

Cargill was awarded the best investor award by the Indonesia Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Investment Coordinating Board of Indonesia. The award conferred to PT Hindoli Cargills oil palm plantation in south Sumatra recognised the companies achievements in four key area's. Sustainable programs, community development efforts, environmental conservation along with employee-employer initiatives. Anthony Yeow, President director of PT Hindoli said that they were honoured that their efforts had been officially recognised. Read more ...

12 million gallons of biofuel annually

POET the worlds largest ethanol producer, with its patent pending technology is expanding to a total of six plants using corn oil as feedstock, and aiming to produce 12 million gallons of biodiesel per year by the end of 2011. POET has been selling Voilà™ corn oil into biodiesel and feed markets since January, and new capacity is now coming online as the company continues to roll out the technology to more plants. "This is pretty exciting. We're producing energy as a by-product of energy," POET founder and CEO Jeff Broin said. "It's incredible to see how many different things we can get from a kernel of corn." Read more ...

Camelina biofuel-friendly gets pilot insurance program

Camelina an oilseed crop that has the potential to create new renewable energy markets in the US, rural jobs and could decrease America dependence on foreign oil. The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced a new pilot program of insurance for camelina starting with the 2012 crop year. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, "this pilot program will help our farmers produce biomass which will be converted to renewable fuel and increase America's energy independence, creating jobs and stimulating rural economies across the nation." Read more ...

E coli engineered to eat switchgrass

US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) researchers have engineered the first strains of Escherichia coli bacteria that can digest switchgrass biomass and synthesize its sugars into all three of those transportation fuels.

  Strains of E. coli bacteria were engineered to digest switchgrass biomass

What’s more, the microbes are able to do this without any help from enzyme additives. This is a major advancement in biofuel technology, “This work shows that we can reduce one of the most expensive parts of the biofuel production process, the addition of enzymes to depolymerise cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugars,” says Jay Keasling, CEO of JBEI and leader of this research. Read more ...

Zambia Refinery ready to mix biofuels

Indeni Petroleum Refinery in Zambia has the capacity to mix biofuels and reduce on the amount of imported crude oil the Energy, Land and Water Development acting permanent secretary Oscar Kalumiana has said. “The inclusion of biofuels in our energy portfolio is envisaged to translate into the reduction on the amount and cost of importing petroleum feedstock thereby saving the country’s hard earned foreign exchange,” he said. Speaking during the National Biofuel stakeholders consultative meeting in Lusaka, Mr Kalumiana said "the Government was constructing depots throughout the country to enable biofuels producers to transport feedstock to nearest reserves". Read more ...

New pilot program for biofuel friendly oilseed crop

The The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA), announced a new pilot project of insurance for camelina starting with the crop year for 2012. "The Obama Administration is committed to building new income opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers, and by producing biofuels from a wide range of agricultural products, we can help promote economic opportunity in rural America," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "This pilot program will help our farmers produce biomass which will be converted to renewable fuel and increase America's energy independence, creating jobs and stimulating rural economies across the nation." Read more ...

Australia government help farmers to go green

In Australia the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry senator Joe Ludwig announced the plan for action on the ground program, designed to help farmers cash in on Australia clean energy future. Action on the Ground is funding to help farmers over the next six years to trial and demonstrate on-farm practices and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitrous oxide or increase soil carbon. “Action on the Ground will provide farmers with support to develop the tools to mitigate the impact of climate change and help Australia meet its emission reduction targets,” Minister Ludwig said. “The first funding round of competitive grants will commit up to AU$25 million (€19.043 million) between now and 2015.” Read more ...

Straw fired plants to generate electricity

Eco2 a renewable generation company are planning to build a 40 MegaWatt capacity biomass power plant to generate electricity in the Southeast of England. According to a spokeswoman for the company, "construction of the plant would take two and a half years and the hope is that planning can be gained within six months, although the process is hard to predict and any objections could lengthen the process considerably". Read more ...

Woody pellet facility in Virginia

Enviva LP a leading manufacturer of processed biomass fuel in the US and Europe has announced that they are planning to build a 454,000 metric ton wood pellet manufacturing facility in Courtland, Va that could be operational as early as the first half of 2013. “As power producers increasingly turn to sustainable, renewable processed biomass fuel to reduce their carbon footprint, Enviva will continue to look to great communities like Courtland to build the future in renewable energy manufacturing,” said Enviva Chairman and CEO John Keppler. Read more ...