Other News

Brick-by-brick the wall standing in the way of biodiesel production is finally being removed. The US Senate voted 62-36 on Wednesday 12 March to pass a tax bill that included a one-year extension of the $1-a-gallon (€0.72) biodiesel tax credit, retroactive to 1 January. When the tax credit expired on 31 December profitable biodiesel operations became a distant reality. The House still must…
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By the end of March 2010 the UK government will have officially released the sustainability model for biomass and biofuels that the UK will abide by. David Kidney, the energy minister, explained that the UK is following in the footsteps of the European Commission, which published its sustainability recommendations in February of this year. Work on the UK guidelines has already commenced. …
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In the UK, Malaby Biogas is waiting for the go ahead from Wiltshire council after plans for a biogas plant have now been submitted and validated. The company is the anaerobic digestion (AD) division of property development firm Malaby Martin and wants to create a 680kW biogas refinery at Bore Hill farm, near Warminster, UK. The proposals, if accepted, will see the introduction of a biogas plant…
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US-based Vega Promotional Systems has signed a five-year agreement with ECEM Salzburg Energy and Environment Consulting to sell its biocoal. Vega is currently building a 40,000 square foot biomass production plant in Georgia, US, that when completed will process biomass to produce 125,000 tonnes of biocoal every year. Austria-based ECEM has agreed to purchase 100% of Vega’s biocoal before…
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In the Philippines biomass power developer Global Green Power is speeding up its green plans. The company will push ahead with three of its planned biomass projects totalling 87.5 megawatts (MW) in response to the government’s request to speed up delivery of power in the Visayas and Mindanao provinces. The projects are Green Power Panay Philippines (35 MW), the Green Power Nueva Ecija (17.5…
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The German biogas market accounted for nearly 70% of the global/European total in 2009. Estimates put its worth at $1 billion (€735 million). The German market fell 80% in 2008, however, pushed by the close succession of the global financial crisis, rising energy crops prices, and the revision of the German Renewable Energy law (EEG). New analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that despite…
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It normally finds its way into the hands of Brazilian bioethanol producers, but now sugarcane finds a new energy purpose in Asia. China's first power plant using sugarcane leaves has been put into operation in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The factory will use 200,000 tonnes of agricultural wastes including sugarcane leaves and tree barks to generate electricity…
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Biomass-based cogeneration plants are springing up in Punjab, India. Sukhbir Agro Energy is planning to set up two paddy processing and co-generation power plants in Ferozepur and Mansa districts of Punjab with capital outlay of Rs 250 crore (€4 million) under a project scheme of the Punjab government. The project in Ferozepur envisages setting up of 80 tonnes per hour (TPH) rice mill,…
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Register before 1st April and receive a 10% early booking discount for the upcoming Bioenergy expo & conference from 5-6 May in Prague. As an added bonus the price for the conference includes a biodiesel plant tour on 4 May and places will be allocated on a first come, first serve basis. The tour will be held at Preol’s state-of-the-art biodiesel plant in the industrial region of…
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European mid-market investment specialist BLM Partners has invested €10 million in biogas and bioelectricity producer agri.capital. agri.capital based in Munster, Germany is one of Europe’s largest biogas producers, operating 49 sites with an installed generation capacity of 36MW. Germany is Europe’s largest producer of biogas. Biogas is produced in a microbial degradation process…
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A $22.3 million (€16.3 million) dual-purpose biorefinery will be constructed in Ipao Ekiti, Nigeria. There are also other biofuels projects located in Ilemeso and Iyemero in Oye and Ikole local government areas respectively. At Iyemero, 5,000 hectares of land for cassava have been cultivated in preparation for the launch of the project. Brazil-based consulting engineering firm Engevix is…
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A biofuel plant based in Quebec, Canada, is to undergo expansion as part of the country’s support for grain-based fuel as an alternative to petrol. The expansion will also create new jobs for the locals. Using fuel produced from grain has been found to lower carbon emissions by as much as 40%, while biodiesel can reduce the production of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 60%. The Verennes…
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British Sugar will grow twice as much sugar beet than last year, claiming that doing so is cheaper than buying the crop from British farmers. During 2009 and 2010, the processing giant grew sugar beet on 1600ha of land. However, this year and next it plans to grow more than 200,000 tonnes of the crop on 3300ha of rented land. The crop could yield more than 80,000 tonnes. Managing director…
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