USA. Georgia Power Co. is going BIO! The compnay which is one of the biggest coal electricity producers in the country is converting one of its facilities to burn biomass. This greening is not coming out of nowhere- the company is following the regulation of the 'green power' program. This regulation obliges every electricity producer to generate a certain amount of green electricity. Please read more about this article here.

UK. After the biomass field has been disputed in the past years for reasons like food competition and forest destruction, it now upgrades its reputation. As John Seed from Helius Energy mentions:
“Every year, 10 million tons of wood goes into landfill sites,” he says. “People are paying money to put wood into landfill whereas it would be much better put into biomass projects.” The young company Helius, which is based in the UK has a 65 MW biomass project currently under development. Helios pre-sold the plant to the german company RWE. Please find more information here.

USA. Four companies are building wood waste biomass power plants . One is 'Peregrine Energy Corporation' which is investing $135 million in a 50 MW plant in South Carolina. Construction starts after granting of the air permit which is planned in May. The other three companies who are currently developing projects are Energy Investors Funds LLC, BioEnergy Development Co. and Florida Biomass LLC. Please read more over their projects here.

UK. Several parties in the area of Inverness are talking about the construction of an biomass energy centre. The forestry department of the Inverness college could provide wood chips for the plant which could be built as a part of the college's extension. Please read more here.

UK. The Standsted Airport brings forward first results on the new biomass installation. The airport could reduce their annual gas consumption by 40%. Please read more here.

Germany. The European Biomass Conference and Exhibition will take place in Hamburg from the 29th of June till 3rd of July 2009. Besides the opportunity of making business contacts, plenary sessions and presentations can be attended about the following topics:
- biomass conversion to heat, electricity and products;
- fuels from biomass;
- the biomass market;
- policies and sustainability;
Find more information on this website.

Germany wants to become the first industrial power to use 100% renewable energy. This goal is set for 2050 and until than, the new road map published by the German Federal ministry for Environment, states the priorities with research & development, increase in all renewable energy technologies and improvement of energy efficiency. Taking this road, Germany will create 800 000 till 900 000 new jobs by 2030. According to Wordmann, Director of Renewable Energy and Resources at Germany Trade and Invest, bioenergy will play a major role in achieving the governmental target. Please read more details here.

USA. The wood pellet leader in Norteastern USA, New England Wood Pellet LLC., announced the formation of the subsidiary Propell Energy (www.propellenergy.com). The new company imports and installs pellet boiler from Europe for domestic and commercial applications. Find out more by clicking here.

UK. Centrica plc. acquired a 19% share of Econergy Ltd. for £1 million. The leader in biomass heating had a turnover of £5 million for the year 2008. Read more here.

USA. Biochar is also called the black gold for agriculture.

At the university of Georgia, studies and tests are conducted about Biochar. The value of this biomass product seems very high considering that this principle was already used about 500 years ago by indigenous tribes in South America to make fertile soil and the same soil remained fertile. Read this interesting CNN article on future possibilities of biomass waste.

UK. The financial support for offshore wind, marine energy and advanced biomass increases on 1st April. The British support mechanism with Renewable Obligations (RO) provides more generous incentives to certain not yet economically viable technologies: so far all renewable energy projects were entitled to receive one Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) for each MWh produced, but now the new scheme allows offshore windfarms and dedicated biomass plants to sell 1,5ROC per MWh and tidal energy even 2 ROC per MWh. Find the complete story here.

UK. Substantial funding is made available by Scottish and Southern Energy for biomass heating projects. The supported projects entail replacements or new installation of biomass boilers of all sizes for domestic use. Find out more by clicking on this link.

UK - Northern Ireland. Rose Energy proposed to built a biomass plant fueled by poultry litter and bonemeal. Supporters are the abundant, from the The Livestock and Meat Commission over to three major players in agriculture food industry to the government. Interested in reading more, than click here.

UK. A 3MW biomass power plant in Wales is given green light by the planning committee. The fuel (22,500 tons
/yr) needed to run this facility is reclaimed from a recycling site nearby. The welsh government's action plan supports the employment of renewable energies. Read the complete story here.

International Energy Agency. For quite a few years a debate has been going on over the risks that the growing bioenergy sector would compete with traditional forestry and agriculture. The new report "Synergies and Competition in Bioenergy Systems" is divided in two sections- the first section focuses on forest-based bioenergy with in depth analysis of regions and countries and the second part covers the agricultural sector and a long term outlook for land availability till 2050. The full report can be downloaded here.

UK. A biomass district heating project provides heat to about 100 new homes. The projects initiator Albyn housing agency states that in the forested area it makes sense to use wood chips because it helps to decrease the fuel dependency. Operator and manager of the plant is Caledon Buccleuch BioEnergy. Find the complete article here.

USA. Local support for a biomass power plant in the area Prescott, Arizona is growing. The region has plenty of woody biomass which is not economically used. The time is good to apply for grants and money from the economic stimulus package. Read more about this story here.

UK. The UK based company 'Growing beds' and the Waste to energy company 'Bioflame' built a joint venture for the establishment of a 2.5MW waste wood clean-burn combustion plant. The construction and operation will be carried out by 'Twinwoods Heat and Power'. Please find the full story here.

USA. The company 'Energy Grains Biomass LLC' (EGB) agreed on a multi- year contract with 'Next Step Biofuels Inc.' for the delivery of an unspecified amount of corn stover. Click here to read more.

UK. Two proposed biomass plants in Swansea and Kidwelly were turned down by the councillors. Several letters of objection were sent and signatures gathered which entailed reasons of air quality and health implications. The complete story can be found behind this link.

USA. The companies Energy Northwest and ADAGE are planning that the construction of four biomass power plants will start in 2010. Currently, the companies are investigating locations in the states Idaho, Washington, Montana and Oregon and are applying for the permits. More information can be found here.

UK. During a public meeting concerns were raised towards the refurbishment of an incinerator to a wood burning 25 MWe biomass plant. The plant from the company 'Bronzeoak' is located in the village of Dimmer. Read the full story here.

Germany & France. With the sale of two biogas plants the german company WELtec entered the french market. The first plant, a 104 kW combined heat and power facility will be located in the Rhône-Alpes region. Read more about the technical design here.

China. The 'National Action Plan for Biomass' has been released and provides information on the biomass energy potential in rural areas. It states, that biomass energy has the potential to cover about 30% of the rural energy demand in China. Find the full story here.

Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic's use of biomass fuel increased by one third in 2008. According to the Czech power group CEZ, investments of about Kc30 billion are being made for renewable technologies like wind, hydro and biomass. Read more about this topic here.

Canada. The foundation 'Sustainable Development Technology Canada' awarded in total $53 million to 16 emerging clean technology projects in Canada.

Please find more information here.

USA. The Iowa Power Fund supports projects for energy innovation and independence. The Iowa State University received funding for the research on clean energy from synthesis gas created through biomass resources. Find full story here.

Hungary. The CEUBIOM meeting in Budapest is about the first results of the harmonization process for biomass resource assessment using terrestrial and earth observations. This project is supported by the European commission. The conference will be open to third parties from Europe. Click here for the Agenda and application.

USA. New Brunswick's provincial government is accepting proposals for their Crown forest resources. Eligible Applicants are provincial bodies, corporations and individuals who either own or are proposing a processing plant located in New Brunswick. Read here the full story.

USA. Due to lacking information no final decision could be made whether the biomass plant is going to be built. The board of commissioners need more information about biomass resource prices and electricity costs for running the plant, but they are not willing to pay for a further study. In the meantime, the department of energy announced march 3rd that funds between $2 - $8million are available for municipalities to invest in energy efficient technologies and CHP systems. Read here the full story.

USA. For Biomass the US stimulus package brings much support. The main items include:

- $800 million in biomass project and research & development funding via
the Department of Energy
- Extension of the PTC (Production Tax Credit) for biomass and solid
waste through 2013
- Conversion of the PTC into the ITC (Investment Tax Credit) for
selected biomass projects
A first major step forward is the upcoming 'Biomass Project Development Tutorial'
which will take place in Atlanta this April.

USA. The power corporation 'Oglethorpe Power' is buying property in Georgia with the intention to build a $400 million biomass power plant. If the plant receives the approval from governmental agencies, the plant would be fueled by woody resources. Click here for the full story.

China. Dragon Power Co Ltd (DP) is China's largest biomass energy producer and owns currently 13 operating plants with six more in construction. For 2010 the company forecasts 50 operating plants with an annual electricity production of 7,5 billion kWh. Please find more information here.

USA. The public power utility 'Lansing Board of Water & Light' (BWL) proposed to built a new power plant 10 months ago. The plan encompassed a power plant running on mainly coal supplemented by biomass which was immediately opposed by citizens. BWL is still taking a timeout for reviewing the power plant plan. To read more about the ongoing discussions, click here.

USA. Nine biomass companies are collaborating in a newly founded trade association called Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC). The idea is to promote the thermal energy from Biomass through education, outreach and policy discussions. To find out more on this Non-profit association, go to www.biomassthermal.org. For reading the full news article, click here.

Cuba. The aim of a pilot project in Cuba is to generate electricity from forest residues. The cuban government with the help of the UN's Organization for Industrial Development are involved in this project which will help Cuba's energy independence. Read more here.

New Brunswick, USA. The government of New brunswick published a request for proposal for their biomass resources. The amount of 550,000t of oven dry material can be applied for until April the 17th. Click here for more information.

UK. Drax intends to expand it's energy generation capacity from biomass by installing three 300MW power plants. Please read the full article here.

Thunder Bay, Ontario. To revive the Canadian forest industry, First Nation aims to build a sawmill, a wood pellet manufacturing plant and a biomass plant. Click here for more information.

UK. In the Bioenergy Action plan, the Welsh assembly government states the target of increasing the share of bioenergy to around 20% of it's electricity and 3% of it's heating needs by 2020. The plan does not cover any biofuels. Please find the complete story here.

USA. The biggest amount of money from 'Traverse City Light & Power' approved capital improvement plan goes into the construction of a windfarm and a biomass plant. Both power generation projects would receive $ 50 million from the companies budget. Read the full story here.

USA. The french company AREVA is looking for locations in Idaho and Washington to build biomass plants. Please read the full story here.

USA. Nexterra Energy and GE Jenbacher are partnering up to create a modular Combined heat and power plants. The compnaies are testing the new application in it's product development center for the next 2 years. Please read more here and here .

USA. Ontario is identifying ways to replace coal with biomass. This fuel change would benefit the forestry industry as well as the emission reduction obligations. The utility Ontario Power Generation published a request for expression of interest on this website. To read more about this news, click here.

The CarbonTrust released a new publication -
a guide for businesses intending to install biomass heating projects.
It can be downloaded at this website after signing in.

Netherlands.

The 'Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek' (CBS) in the Netherlands published that sustainable electricity production was growing in the last year. In comparison to 2007, the energy consumption from wind and biomass grew from 1,5% to 7,5% in 2008. Click here to read more.

Oregon, USA. The Forest Service and BLM are identifying biomass energy projects for which they can apply for funding. The companies want to make use of Obama's economic stimulus package which will start spreading some of the money end of February. To read the full story click here.

RWE Innogy & Westphalia-Lippe Agricultural Association (WLV) are cooperating in biogas projects in the Muenster area. The companies aim is to partner up in constructing and operating biogas plants using local manure as resource. The first plant is located in the district of Borken and is scheduled for commissioning in the next year. If this pilot plant is successful, the company intends more biogas partnerships within Germany and Euope. Please read the full story here and here.

USA. Stimulus package provides $800 million for projects related to biomass. Read here the full article.

USA. Energy Northwest is planning to built biomass plants together with ADEGA in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. For more information, please click here.

Marks & Spencer set a goal to only use renewable energy sources within six years. The signed deal with npower deals with 2,6 TWh renewable electricity and lasts until 2015. To read the full story, click here.

The Albanian government and an Italian company closed a $1.3 billion deal for the construction of a biomass plant and a wind park in northern Albania. Please click here to read the full story.

UK. Sustainable bioenergy centre was launched by the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council. Several universities, research institutes and industries are collaborating to improve the overall bioenergy status in the UK. Please click here to read the full article.

UK. In Elmswell, Suffolk eco- homes are built. The biomass boiler generates the needed energy and was financed by a £100,000 grant from Low Carbon Building Trust. One resident of the clay field eco- homes is responsible for looking after the woodchips fired plant. Please find the full story here.

Great Britain. The UK waste strategy deals with reducing the landfill waste which is getting more and more expensive. In this regard, biodegradable municipal waste can be separated and used for energy generation. The newly launched conference-"Energy from Biomass and Waste UK" (EBW UK), which is looking at new approaches and technologies will be held on January 26 -27th in London. Please find more information here.

USA. Biomass energy plays a role in the U.S. stimulus package. The final version of the bill is still under discussion between the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill will probably be signed by Barack Obama within this week. Please read full text here.

Canada. In British Columbia, the company Virtual Media Holdings, Inc. changed their name to Biomass Secure Power, Inc. to better reflect their business strategy. To read the full story, please click on this link.

USA. Economist Dermot Hayes was appointed to the Biomass Research and Development Technical Advisory Committee. Read the full article here.
This committee serves as a link between the federal and state agency, consumers, research institutes and agricultural industry.

$25 Million for Biomass R&D

End of January the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Agriculture (USDA) announced that funding up to $25 million is available for R&D in bio fuels, bio energy and bio products and R&D . Click here to read the full story.