The wood pellet export industry in North America has grown exponentially in a relatively short period of time. The export value has increased from an estimated 40 million dollars in 2004 to almost 400 million dollars in 2012. This fairly new trade development is the result of Europe’s quest to reduce its dependence on fossil [...]
Wood For Energy Use In Schools, Hospitals, and Other Facilities Growing
The State of Institutional Woody Biomass Facilities in the United States, a report just released by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, is available at www.usendowment.org. This report, based on research by Katie Premo, Endowment intern, and Kate MacFarland, USDA Forest Service (USFS) staff, fills the gap and points to the growth in use [...]
Wood Pellet Exports From North America To Europe Up Over 70% In 3Q/12
Pellet exports from the two primary pellet-producing regions on the North American continent, the US South and British Columbia, continued to increase in the 3Q/12 and reached a new record of 860,000 tons. Shipments in the 3Q/12 were over 70% higher than the same quarter in 2011, according to the North American Wood Fiber Review, [...]
Ace, Sweetwater Plan To Produce Cellulosic Ethanol From Woody Biomass
Ace Ethanol will team up with Sweetwater Energy Inc. to produce next-generation ethanol at its plant in Stanley. The Stanley plant opened in 2002 as Wisconsin’s first large-scale corn ethanol production facility. It has 48 employees and can produce about 50 million gallons of ethanol per year. Ace and Rochester, N.Y.-based Sweetwater will team up [...]
U.S. Forest Service Awards Nearly $4 Million For Renewable Wood Energy Projects
The U.S. Forest Service recently announced the award of nearly $4 million in grants for wood energy projects around the country to help expand regional economies and create new jobs. The grants, totaling $3.92 million, will be distributed to 20 small businesses, community groups and tribes to develop renewable energy projects that require engineering services. [...]
Hardwood Sawmiller Turns To Biomass
Beasley Forest Products, LLC (BFP) and Land Care Services, LLC (LCS) have entered into a joint venture to develop a 56 MW biomass fueled power plant at a current industrial site in southeast Laurens County near Dublin. The new business, Green Power Solutions LLC (GPS), has received approval from the Georgia Public Service Commission and [...]
Woody Biomass Supply Chains Conference & VIP Tour Of The Mid-Atlantic Logging & Biomass Expo
Conference Overview The production of energy from woody biomass can be an important component of a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy security. Biomass represents 79% of independent renewable energy generation in North Carolina and will continue to represent a large portion of the renewable energy portfolio for the foreseeable future. [...]
ZeaChem Signs Agreement to Supply Biorefinery
ZeaChem Inc., a developer of biorefineries for the conversion of renewable biomass into sustainable fuels and chemicals, today announced it has signed a long-term binding term sheet with GreenWood Tree Farm Fund (GTFF), managed by GreenWood Resources (GWR), to supply hybrid poplar woody biomass for its first commercial cellulosic biorefinery. The combination of GTFF’s existing [...]
Expert Advises Caution for Liquid Fuels Hopefuls
A recent news report in agricultural website Capital Press says that timber companies need to be cautious when considering getting into the biomass business, according to expert Gareth Mayhead, academic coordinator for forest products at University of California-Berkeley. According to Mayhead, gasification and other liquid fuels technologies are not yet proven and are currently unfeasible for use [...]
Deere, Adage Make Biomass Alliance
John Deere and Adage LLC, a bioenergy joint venture between Areva and Duke Energy, have announced an alliance to bring technology and process innovation to the fuel supply for sustainable woody biomass power projects. The first project to be developed as part of the alliance will be Adage’s proposed facility in Mason County, Wash., 80 [...]