Bioenergy & Waste News

Industry concern over level of government support for CHP

20-11-08: Minister notes "very significant" opportunities for combined heat and power sector in new legislation, but industry is concerned at lack of a "joined up" incentive for CHP

Government commits to feed-in tariffs for 2010

19-11-08: Energy Bill debate sees minister Mike O'Brien reassuring doubters that guaranteed long-term payments will be brought in for small-scale renewable electricity projects

Government raises renewables feed-in tariff cap to 5MW

18-11-08: Although actual level of feed-in tariff threshold could still be lower, ministers raise proposed maximum level from three to 5MW within today's Energy Bill debate

Council gives official backing to £400m Teesside biomass plant

18-11-08: Redcar and Cleveland to advise government that it approves of MGT Power's proposed 300W power plant to be fuelled by woodchip shipped in via nearby deepwater port

News in Brief

17-11-08:

With news of two wood fuel initiatives; a wave power deployment; planning approval for a Gloucestershire wind farm; and, a new office for npower renewables

Ministers seek views on Northern Ireland's energy future

17-11-08: Ministers launch consultation on Northern Ireland's four-year-old Strategic Energy Framework, to significantly increase the amount of renewable power being generated

Councils move ahead with energy-from-waste ambitions

14-11-08: Staffordshire and Gloucestershire reach milestones in Private Finance Initiative projects to set up energy-from-waste facilities, but Manchester project facing continued delays

Energy security key in next wave of European energy laws

13-11-08:

Efforts to boost investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency are central to EU Commission's latest "package" of energy legislation for Europe, unveiled today

Scottish study calms fears about wood-fuel heating emissions

12-11-08:

Researchers from AEA Technology test out biomass boilers and model results across Edinburgh and Dundee, easing concerns about local air quality issues

Isle of Wight gasification plant starts up

10-11-08: Energos plant begins processing waste in a UK first, after equipment problems caused four month delay in final commissioning run

BP pulls out of UK wind power - and also CCS competition

07-11-08: Oil giant confirms intention to focus wind development efforts in United States - and reveals it is pulling out of the UK's carbon capture and storage programme

Scottish and Southern Energy plan to build multi-fuel CHP plants

07-11-08: Energy giant to develop multi-fuel plants using flexible range of fuels from biomass to waste, to help back up expansion of intermittent renewable power sources

Renewable Heat Incentive to offer banded system of support

06-11-08: New subsidy system for renewable heat and heating fuels will offer different support levels for different technologies - similar to reformed Renewables Obligation

Government sticks to 3MW cap for microgeneration feed-in tariff

06-11-08: Energy Bill debate fails to sway minister Lord Hunt in setting 3MW upper limit on forthcoming small-scale power incentives to protect larger-scale projects

Warning over EU threat to energy-from-waste efforts

05-11-08: Concern over attempt by certain members of EU Council to redefine biomass, requiring it to be separately collected from waste to count as renewable energy source

£80m straw-fired power plant in Lincolnshire wins consent

05-11-08: Renewable energy developers Eco2 celebrate winning planning permission on second attempt for 40MW biomass plant to use local straw to generate power

Energy Bill debate to address "sleeping giant" of climate change

05-11-08: Use of energy for heating purposes - responsible for half UK carbon emissions - to be addressed through proposals in today's Energy Bill debate in House of Lords

Tories: Keep business tax local to help energy planning

04-11-08: Shadow energy minister Charles Hendry says local business rates from wind farms and other renewable energy schemes should remain with local authorities

News in Brief

04-11-08: Including news of a tidal power deal for Edinburgh University; Scottish planning shake-up; Friends of the Earth view on feed-in tariff amendments; and, installation of a biogas refuelling station in Camden

German anaerobic digestion firm expands into UK market

04-11-08: Biogas Nord commissions first farm-scale biogas plant, also begins construction of a facility in West Sussex to produce 1MW of renewable energy

Green light for Diageo's £65m biomass energy plant

03-11-08: Energy firm Dalkia to build combination anerobic digestion and biomass combustion plant to make use of by-products of the whisky production process to power distillery

PROFILE: Eco2 - building a £1 billion house of straw

31-10-08:

Cardiff-based company Eco2 may have been founded as a wind development company, but biomass power is now its future, using locally-produced straw as a feedstock

£18m anaerobic digestion merger to "change face of industry"

31-10-08: Greenfinch and Biogen, two of the first UK companies to develop commercial-scale anaerobic digestion facilities to generate energy from waste, combine efforts

Industry welcomes feed-in tariffs for power and heat

30-10-08:

Inclusion of feed-in tariff amendment to the Energy Bill prompts praise from renewables industry, but the REA doubts the government's timetable

Government unveils renewable power and heat feed-in tariffs

30-10-08: Ministers propose separate feed-in tariffs for renewable electricity and renewable heat, within amendments to the Energy Bill ahead of House of Lords debate next week

Scotland reaches 3GW renewable energy milestone

29-10-08: Jim Mather opens Dalswinton and Minsca wind farms, helping Scotland to break through 3GW barrier of installed renewable energy capacity

LandEnergy to use biomass power in wood pellet production

29-10-08: Wood pellet trading firm working towards becoming a manufacturer through new production plants reveals plan to power its operations with biomass CHP system

Seaweed "efficient and reliable" biomass fuel, claim researchers

28-10-08: Crown Estate report into marine biomass potential recommends that Scotland begin farming seaweed on a small scale for anaerobic digestion

Biofuels "better" than standard jet fuel, says Boeing

27-10-08:

With expectations that aviation will join other industry sectors within tougher climate change targets this week, Boeing says latest biofuels perform well in aircraft

Carbon Trust launches algae biofuels challenge

23-10-08: Algae Biofuels Challenge launched by Carbon Trust to accelerate the commercialisation of algae biofuels; at least £3 million has been released in funding

Drax and Siemens announce £2bn biomass power programme

23-10-08: Three new 300MW biomass plants to be developed by two companies in joint agreement, at Immingham, Hull and a third site yet to be decided

PM reassures wind industry of commitment to low carbon energy

21-10-08: Gordon Brown tells industry's annual exhibition and conference that "difficult economic times" will not make government back off from clean energy commitments