Kior a renewable fuels company makes $1 million loss

First commercial scale facility

A US renewable fuels company Kior said it made a net loss of US$64 million (€48 million) in 2011, which was more than the US$46 million (€34.457 million) loss it made the year prior. The company did not make any revenue throughout last year because it was investing in the construction of its first commercial facility in Columbus, Mississippi, as well as into R&D which it hopes will improve the production yields for its biofuels developments. Even though these figures are not positive, the company is looking to finance an expansion and has already hired more staff and increased its testing activities. Read more ...

New planning laws could see a reduction in rural energy bills

New relaxed laws on planning permission for small scale renewable energy systems, could see a reduction in rural energy bills. From April 2012 small-scale energy installations built on agricultural or forestry land will be exempt from planning permission under amendments to the English Town and Country Planning Order. This means that farmers and landowners will no longer need to seek permission to install small scale renewable energy systems such as solar panels on existing buildings or anaerobic digesters on farming or non domestic land.

Ivan Moss, planning policy adviser at The National Farmers Union (NFU) said: "This is very good news for our members. The permitted development rights will enable farmers to install small-scale renewable energy generation without needing to obtain planning permission. It will reduce their energy costs and make their production greener, making it a win-win for everyone." Read more ..

DDGS imports to Japan at record high

DDGS sales to Japan

The ethanol boom in the US has lead to increasing availability of a high value co-product, Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS). Since 2007 Japans imports of DDGS has increased remarkably in 2007 they surpassed the 100,000 MT and by 2009 they had reached 275,000MT. In 2010 the demand surged higher as corn prices increased. The majority of DDGS is being used in dairy cattle feed. One of the key reasons to this increased growth is aggressive trade education activities led by the US grain council. Read more ...

Anesco launches free biomass boilers for commercial market

Anesco is helping businesses to green up their energy credentials after launching an innovative new scheme to provide fully funded biomass boiler installations. Under the scheme, organisations can receive the free supply and installation of an ETA biomass boiler, including fuel storage, delivery systems, performance monitoring and annual services.

As well as coming at zero cost to an organisation, firms will benefit from substantially reduced heating bills. Savings on these bills will range from 30 to 50 percent, with properties that currently run on oil or LPG based systems reaping the greatest rewards. The scheme is particularly beneficial for medium to large size facilities which have sizeable heating demands each day, such as nursing homes, hotels, large commercial units and leisure centres.

Adrian Pike, CEO of Anesco, explains: “Funding is always difficult for some organisations, so we’ve been able to pull together an innovative fully funded offering, to help businesses install a brand new boiler free of charge.

“As we developed our ESCO model, which looks at every aspect of an organisations operations and how their buildings function, we found there is a distinct need to provide a greener way to heat buildings.

“Biomass energy is a cost effective solution to this and with the UK’s unique Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme launched by the Department of Energy Climate Change, this provides a visionary way of implementing such technology at no cost to the client.”

The cost of each installation is recouped by Anesco for its investors through the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI) scheme, which is a Government reward initiative that makes payments for heat generated from renewable sources.

Organisations signing up to the scheme will receive an ETA biomass boiler from leading manufacturer Innasol, who is Anesco’s chosen supplier for the initiative.

Adrian added: “The free biomass boiler installations will provide a green energy solution, while bringing saving on energy bills and helping organisations achieve their carbon commitment targets.”

For more details visit www.anesco.co.uk 
or call 0845 894 4444.

Viaton Industries to cut costs with on-site wind power

Powder technology firm Viaton Industries Limited is to build a wind turbine on its Brassington site after Derbyshire Dales District Council last week granted planning permission for a single turbine, predicted to provide around 6570 MW/h per annum based on an application prepared by environmental and town planning specialist Atmos Consulting.

Like any heavy industrial firm, Viaton’s energy consumption costs have risen astronomically and generating its own renewable energy is an increasingly attractive option to significantly reduce manufacturing costs. 70 percent of the energy produced from the wind turbine will be used on site at Viaton, with any surplus being fed into the grid at times the plant is not operating.

Atmos Consulting carried out a full environmental impact assessment for the proposal. The quality of the whole proposal was praised by both nature advisory body Natural England and Derbyshire Dales District Council.

Philip Lewis, regional director at Atmos Consulting, who led the project commented: “Viaton is an important local employer that has worked hard to secure its future by establishing a lean business model. Adding on-site power generation now gives it more control over its energy costs, and we are delighted to have helped the firm to achieve planning permission with no objections from local residents or expensive appeal process.”

Atmos Consulting provides a fully-comprehensive range of consultancy skills from feasibility studies through to detailed environmental impact assessments and mitigation planning, for a wide range of development, including renewable energy projects.

For more information,
please visit www.atmosconsulting.com 
or
 follow them on Twitter @atmosconsulting

Feedstock Innovation award won by DuPont

The 2012 Sustainable biofuel award in the sustainable feedstock innovation category for its stover harvest collection project was won by DuPont. This was a scale up project that has significantly advances the cellulosic ethanol industry toward commercialisation and advances DuPont’s efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Sustainable Feedstock Innovation
Winner: DuPont

"It is an honor to receive the 2012 Sustainable Biofuels Award for our Stover Harvest Collection Project," said James C. Collins, president of DuPont Industrial Biosciences. "We recognise that a reliable, sustainable source of biomass is critical to the success of advanced biofuels. Our collaborative approach involving growers, researchers, environmental organisations and government ensures we'll be able to meet the needs of the evolving market sustainably while creating new opportunities for rural America." Read more ...

The UK governments loses Supreme Court appeal over Feed in Tariffs

The British governments appeal against a previous high court and court of appeal ruling that it had acted unlawfully when it reduced the Solar PV Feed-in-Tariffs (FiTs) was rejected by the Supreme Court. The ruling end months of speculation that the rates that installations fitted between December 12, 2011 and March 3, 2012 would receive.

The ruling confirms that the original payment of 43p/kWh rather than 21p/kWh will apply to systems installed within this period. Mark Newton, Head of Renewable Energy at Fisher German said “This is an excellent outcome for those who have installed before March 3 and I am glad to see that a decision has been made that will end months of speculation. I hope that know we can put this behind us and that people throughout the country can once again have confidence installing renewable energy projects". Read more ...

Recent budget gets response from renewable industry specialists

After the Chancellor delivered his budget, the Chief Executive of the UK’s National Centre for Biorenewable Energy, Fuels and Materials (NNFCC), said it is a 'missed opportunity. Andrew Holmes, Managing Director of the Climate Energy Group, says: “We welcome the news that renewable energy is a priority for the Government. As gas and oil prices continue to rise, making energy bills unaffordable for many elderly and vulnerable people as well as families, we need to be looking at making renewable energy a realistic option for households across the UK.

“The Government must work with the industry to ensure that the future of renewable energy isn’t just a pipe dream but is achievable for both businesses and homeowners across the UK. “More clarity around the future of FiT, RHI and Green Deal will go a long way to helping to achieve this and will encourage further investment in renewables in the UK," concluded Mr Holmes. Read more ...