Pellet industry must become 'common and ordinary; embrace oil'

Biomass Magazine


By Anna Simet | April 10, 2014


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ASABE announces international standards project for biomass fuels

Biomass Magazine


By American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers | March 07, 2014


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White paper highlights economic benefits of biomass thermal bill

Biomass Magazine

By Erin Voegele | July 10, 2013

 

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Report addresses Midwest biomass thermal potential

Biomass Magazine

By Erin Voegele | May 06, 2013

 

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N.M. bill would allow creation of RECs for biomass thermal energy

Biomass Magazine
By Erin Voegele
February 22, 2013

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Forest Service funds wood-to-energy initiatives

Biomass Magazine
By Luke Geiver
July 26, 2012

The U.S. Forest Service has awarded a total of $4 million to 12 different wood-to-energy projects throughout the country. During a conference call to announce the funding, both Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell and the USDA’s Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack voiced their excitement for the wood-to-energy initiatives, calling the funding “significant,” based on the future economic and wildfire prevention benefits the woody biomass utilization efforts will bring. According to Tidwell, the majority of the projects will focus on using woody biomass for either power or thermal applications.

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N.H. grants full RPS credit to biomass thermal

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Anna Simet
June 25, 2012

New Hampshire has become the first state to grant the same credit to renewable thermal projects that renewable electricity projects receive under a renewable portfolio standard (RPS).

Established in 2007, the RPS requires electricity providers to provide 23.8 percent renewable electricity to customers by 2025, and grants renewable energy credits (RECs) on a four-category classification system. New Hampshire S.B. 218 adds thermal renewable to the RPS, granting RECs up to $29 per megawatt-hour of useable thermal energy produced by qualifying projects.

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Boardman’s next life may depend on giant cane plant

Portland Business Journal by Sean Meyers
Date: Friday, January 13, 2012, 3:00am PST


Arundo donax has passed its first test as a possible biofuel alternative to coal being burned at Portland General .Portland General Latest from The Business Journals PGE working on energy plan mixResidential solar market is steady — but not stellarPGE sued by PCC Structurals Follow this company .Electric’s Boardman power plant.

Farmers and researchers in eastern Oregon and Washington are turning in positive first-year growth trial reports on Arundo donax, also called giant reed or giant cane.

Arundo donax is a bamboo-like grass used worldwide for production of furniture, musical instruments, paper fiber and roofing.

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Willow biofuels program ignites with new boiler

R&D Magazine
By Cornell University
Friday, January 6, 2012

Prospects for meeting energy needs with a locally grown bioenergy crop are heating up on a Cornell campus.

Associate professor of horticulture Larry Smart's shrub willow bioenergy program is celebrating two milestones: a new $950,000 grant for breeding willow and installation of a boiler that will heat two buildings at Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) in Geneva with willow biofuel produced right on campus.

"Willow is a renewable fuel option for people currently facing the high costs of heating with oil or propane," Smart said. "The scale of our demonstration plots and the new boiler would be appropriate for many businesses, municipalities, school districts, farms or non-farming landowners."

A recent land use assessment for the Northeast estimated that there are more than 6.9 million acres of idle or surplus agricultural land that is suitable for perennial bioenergy crop cultivation, without displacing acreage needed for food or feed production.

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Webinar on market trends shows growing pellet markets

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Luke Geiver December 21, 2011

A BTEC webinar Dec. 21 highlighted the potential in pellet export markets.

As of December 2011, 456 wood-based bioenergy projects exist in the U.S. that have either been announced or are operating, according to Forisk Consulting LLC. Of those, 159 are generating power, 62 are combined-heat-and-power projects, 20 are producing heat, 39 are making liquid fuel and 176 are producing pellets.

Those Forisk numbers, along with information on the market drivers behind woody biomass in North America calculated by RISI Inc., were provided during the final installment of a 14-part Biomass Thermal Energy Council webinar series.

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BTEC Announces Dec. 20 Webinar: Biomass Thermal Energy Market Outlook: 2012 - 2015

RenewableEnergyWorld.com
By Biomass Thermal Energy Council December 15, 2011

Biomass experts outline future economic growth of industry in the final WERC webinar

Washington, DC – December 15, 2011 Today, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) announced its newest webinar, "Biomass Thermal Energy Market Outlook: 2012-2015," scheduled for December 20th at 2 PM ET. By showcasing future resource availability, technology and policy, this webinar will help those involved with biomass thermal assess resources available to them as well as possible investment options for the future.

Despite regulatory and economic uncertainty, the biomass industry has shown resilience and continued growth. The December 20th webinar will feature three perspectives on biomass market growth, trends, and overall expansion. Each presenter will showcase a different forecasting tool or analysis developed to better understand and promote biomass thermal markets. These tools address resource availability, appliance development and policy possibilities.

Register for webinar

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BTEC Announces Dec. 14 Webinar: the Future of Biomass Thermal Energy – Advanced Technologies

Biomass Thermal Energy Council (PR.com)


Free educational webinar will focus on cutting-edge technology and market opportunity

Washington, DC, December 09, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Today, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) announced its newest webinar, “The Future of Biomass Thermal Energy – Advanced Technologies,” scheduled for December 14th at 1 PM ET. The webinar will discuss the most cutting edge technologies for both fuel production and boiler manufacturing as well as what the future may hold for the biomass industry.

Although biomass heating systems are amongst the oldest form of energy systems, manufacturers continue to advance the technology for increased convenience and safety. From fully automated boiler systems to cutting edge fuel processing, leaders in the industry work unceasingly to improve their products. This webinar will provide an overview of system improvements designed to meet evolving customer's needs and local standards. Additionally, it will provide an opportunity to hear state and federal policy options and other avenues to expand the biomass industry.

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Heating the Midwest will hold first conference in April

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Lisa Gibson November 29, 2011

The first-ever Heating the Midwest conference will be held April 25-27 at the Ramada Convention Center in Eau Claire, Wis.

The event, Heating the Midwest 2012 Conference and Expo: Building the Vision, will bring together leaders in the biomass thermal industry to discuss strategies for expanding the use of biomass in the Midwest. An event agenda is still in development, but preliminary topics include biomass availability and processing, policy, combustion technologies and success stories of current biomass heat and power users.

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Putting Biomass Thermal on the Front Burner in DC

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Stephen Gunther and Ellen Abramowitz November 01, 2011

In recent months, renewable energy and energy investment have reemerged in the policy debate in Washington, D.C. Both Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., voiced their intentions in early October to address how the government should invest in energy. While Bingaman plans to hold a hearing on U.S. investments in clean energy in the coming weeks, Alexander intends to scrutinize permanent energy subsidies and focus investments in research for solar technologies, batteries, green buildings, carbon capture and storage, fusion, nuclear energy and biofuels. Once again, the importance of renewable thermal energy, specifically biomass, appears overlooked in the energy debate.


To raise awareness on Capitol Hill of the importance of biomass thermal energy, the Biomass Thermal Energy Council and numerous renewable energy and environmental groups such as the Biomass Coordinating Council and the Pellet Fuels Institute are hosting a Biomass Thermal DC Summit on Nov. 16. This unprecedented event will unite the nation’s biomass thermal businesses and educate policy makers about the considerable potential of biomass thermal energy in meeting America’s growing demand for clean, reliable and domestic energy sources.

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Coffee Grounds Give Jolt to Crippled Japanese Energy Grid

ABC News
By AKIKO FUJITA (@akikofujita)
TOKYO June 6, 2011

That daily cup of coffee is giving one of Japan's large thermal power plants an eco-friendly jolt. Sumitomo Metal Industries says it has begun using coffee grounds as biomass fuel to power its Kashima Steel Works plant in Japan, a first for a large power generating facility in the country.

Sumitomo Metal says biomass fuel generated from coffee grounds currently only amounts to 1 percent of the total amount of fuel used at the plant, but it hopes to gradually increase that number. The company plans to buy 12,000 tons of coffee grounds in the first year of the project.

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New Energy Economics: Future Biomass Markets

cattlenetwork.com
12/01/2010 07:30AM

Farmers in the northern Plains have the potential to supply large quantities of biomass. With respect to demand for biomass, federal policies, including the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and the creation of a national Renewable Electricity Standard, form important future market opportunities.

Moreover, several state renewable energy initiatives foster additional regional demand.

Before a farmer begins establishing a biomass crop, he or she is encouraged to research and indentify biomass market purchasers that offer an economic return above production and transportation costs. Increasing federal and regional biomass demand does not always imply that those same market opportunities exist locally.

Two different markets for biomass are likely to develop in the future. One market will utilize chemical or enzymatic processes to convert biomass into liquid biofuels and other high-value renewable products. A second market will use thermal, pyrolysis or gasification processes to use biomass energy for the production of electricity, syngas, steam and other forms of energy.

In both markets, the two most important criteria buyers will utilize to determine the value of the biomass delivered to a plant site are the quantity of biomass supplied as measured by weight in tons and the moisture content. If the biomass buyer is using either an enzymatic or thermal process, they would prefer to purchase "bone dry" biomass, which is biomass that contains no water.

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Biomass Testing Lab established

North Dakota State University
April 28, 2010 at 3:08 PM

Cole Gustafson, NDSU biofuels economist, and Igathi Cannayen, Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory assistant professor, have received $450,000 from the North Dakota Renewable Energy Council and U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service in Mandan to establish the first dedicated biomass-testing laboratory in North Dakota.

The lab will be designed to test dimensional, thermal and physical properties of biomass.
Creation of the lab aligns with the NDSU Bio Energy and Product Innovation Center's (BioEPIC) goal of fostering development of a biomass industry in North Dakota. BioEPIC already has created a searchable biomass inventory so prospective investors can evaluate potential biomass supplies in different geographic locations across the state. In addition, a decision aide, Biomass Compare, has been developed to help farmers and ranchers compare the profitability of biomass production with traditional farm enterprises.

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NY company’s technology grinds biomass into powder for heat

Biomass Magazine November 2009
By Lisa Gibson
Posted November 12, 2009, at 3:22 p.m. CST

Summerhill Biomass Systems, a new company based in New York, has developed a system that can grind up almost any type of plant waste into a fine powder for conversion to heat, according to the company.

Summerhill has patents pending on its proprietary process and combustion physics, according to James McKnight, president and chairman of the board, and his son Lee McKnight, member of the board of directors. Combustion is up to 99.5 percent complete, they said, with no smoke or odor. The user can control the temperature with a thermostat, a feature not readily found on wood pellet or other biomass systems, they added. Feedstocks can include corn stalks, timber and manure. “We can produce energy from the waste products that other biomass producers and green energy companies leave behind,” Lee McKnight said.

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Biomass thermal energy policy briefing a success

Biomass Magazine November 2009
Posted November 11, 2009, at 2:07 p.m. CST

The Biomass Thermal Energy Council, the Pellet Fuels Institute, and the Alliance for Green Heat briefed a combined audience of Democrat and Republican congressional staffers about the benefits and viability of biomass thermal energy.

The briefing, held Nov. 6, addressed a standing room only audience of individuals interested in biomass energy, including representatives from 16 congressional offices, two Senate committees and the U.S. EPA.

“The goal of the briefing was to help policymakers understand biomass heating as a cost-effective way to meet our goals of energy independence and addressing issues of climate change,” said Jon Strimling, president of WoodPellets.com and BTEC Government Affairs Committee chairman. “We are excited about the level of interest we’re seeing in utilizing clean, renewable resources for heating, and we look forward to continued progress in Washington.”

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Biomass Thermal Heats Up

RenewableEnergyWorld.com
October 9, 2009
by Stephen Lacey, Podcast Editor
New Hampshire, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

For a decade, Europe has been supporting biomass thermal energy, creating a large commercial and industrial market for resources like wood pellets. Here in the U.S., support has been absent; therefore, wood pellets play only a niche role in residential applications.

Read the full story and link to the podcast