Wood will fuel electricity for homes and businesses in Virginia if Dominion Power receives a final green light on converting three power stations in the state from coal to biomass.
Utility executives appeared confident in the projects’ appeal for regulators as they signed an agreement with biomass fuel producer Enviva to provide woody biomass fuel to two of the power plants. Both plants, one located in Southampton and the other in Hopewell, Virginia, are set to convert from 63MW coal-fired facilities to 50MW biomass-fueled plants under current plans. Keep reading →
In the quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the renewables sector, companies are seeking solutions to capture the waste.
Chromatin, a venture-backed biotechnology Chicago-based company, believes it has found the solution by using sorghum to fuel electricity, which it touts itself as an even more commercially viable alternative than other feedstocks such as algae. Keep reading →
The business of exporting US-produced wood pellets to burn as biomass fuel continues to grow despite formidable challenges.
A new alliance between fuel supplier Enviva and wood pellet manufacturer Biomass Energy is targeting the export of more than 350,000 metric tonnes (385,800 short tons) of wood pellets and wood chips over the next three years. The wood-based fuel will originate from Biomass Energy’s Bumpass, Virginia facility. Keep reading →
Brown may be the new green.
Dominion Virgina Power wants to expanding its efforts to swap coal for biomass, animal and plant waste matter. Keep reading →
In its proposal this week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said it would maintain the minimum requirements for ethanol count in diesel, but not much more than that.
The proposed range for the 2012 requirement for cellulosic biofuel is 3.45-12.9 million gallons. The EPA proposes to maintain the 2012 advanced biofuel requirements under the RFS at 2 billion gallons as federal law requires. The proposed volumes and numbers can be found on this brief fact sheet from the EPA. Keep reading →
Leveraging biomass and biofuels may provide a unique opportunity for developing countries to join the energy race.
In a global first, the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) announced today that its 17 participating countries had agreed on a set of 24 voluntary sustainability indicators that would aid countries in developing bioenergy. Keep reading →
As debates continue over the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and its ethanol mandates, let’s remember that when the RFS was enacted more than a decade ago it was supposed to jumpstart a commercially viable cellulosic ethanol industry – ethanol made from the leaves, stems and other fibrous parts of a plant. This has not happened. Far… Keep reading →
EPA likely will need to take the lead in rescuing U.S. consumers from the potential negative impacts of the federal ethanol mandate, given the shrinking chance that Congress will pass significant reforms to the broken Renewal Fuel Standard (RFS) program. That’s the view of the natural gas and oil industry, which continues to warn of… Keep reading →
With EPA receiving public input this week on its proposed ethanol volumes for 2019 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), it’s important to stay focused on the potential negative impacts of a broken Washington policy — on consumers and the fuel market. Yes, we know that America’s energy renaissance in natural gas and oil production has accomplished the… Keep reading →
A new study by T2 and Associates quantifies natural gas and oil’s leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions – through its investments in renewables and other low-carbon technologies and cutting its own emissions – resulting in cleaner air for the country. In all, industry directly invested more than $108 billion in zero- and low-carbon technologies between 2000… Keep reading →
