<body> --------------
Contact Us       Consulting       Projects       Our Goals       About Us
home » Archive »
Nature Blog Network


    QUICK NOTES

    Spanish engineering and energy company Abengoa says it had suspended bioethanol production at the biggest of its three Spanish plants because it was unprofitable. It cited high grain prices and uncertainty about the national market for ethanol. Earlier this year, the plant, located in Salamanca, ceased production for similar reasons. To Biopact this is yet another indication that biofuel production in the EU/US does not make sense and must be relocated to the Global South, where the biofuel can be produced competitively and sustainably, without relying on food crops. Reuters - September 24, 2007.

    The Midlands Consortium, comprised of the universities of Birmingham, Loughborough and Nottingham, is chosen to host Britain's new Energy Technologies Institute, a £1 billion national organisation which will aim to develop cleaner energies. University of Nottingham - September 21, 2007.

    The EGGER group, one of the leading European manufacturers of chipboard, MDF and OSB boards has begun work on installing a 50MW biomass boiler for its production site in Rion. The new furnace will recycle 60,000 tonnes of offcuts to be used in the new combined heat and power (CHP) station as an ecological fuel. The facility will reduce consumption of natural gas by 75%. IHB Network - September 21, 2007.

    Analysts fear that record oil prices will fuel general inflation in Kenya, particularly hitting the poorest hard. They call for the development of new policies and strategies to cope with sustained high oil prices. Such policies include alternative fuels like biofuels, conservation measures, and more investments in oil and gas exploration. The poor in Kenya are hit hardest by the sharp increase, because they spend most of their budget on fuel and transport. Furthermore, in oil intensive economies like Kenya, high oil prices push up prices for food and most other basic goods. All Africa - September 20, 2007.

    Finland's Metso Power has won an order to supply Kalmar Energi Värme AB with a biomass-fired power boiler for the company’s new combined heat and power plant in Kalmar on the east coast of Sweden. Start-up for the plant is scheduled for the end of 2009. The value of the order is approximately EUR 55 million. The power boiler (90 MWth) will utilize bubbling fluidized bed technology and will burn biomass replacing old district heating boilers and reducing the consumption of oil. The delivery will also include a flue gas condensing system to increase plant's district heat production. Metso Corporation - September 19, 2007.

    Jo-Carroll Energy announced today its plan to build an 80 megawatt, biomass-fueled, renewable energy center in Illinois. The US$ 140 million plant will be fueled by various types of renewable biomass, such as clean waste wood, corn stover and switchgrass. Jo-Carroll Energy - September 18, 2007.

    Beihai Gofar Marine Biological Industry Co Ltd, in China's southern region of Guangxi, plans to build a 100,000 tonne-per-year fuel ethanol plant using cassava as feedstock. The Shanghai-listed company plans to raise about 560 million yuan ($74.5 million) in a share placement to finance the project and boost its cash flow. Reuters - September 18, 2007.

    The oil-dependent island state of Fiji has requested US company Avalor Capital, LLC, to invest in biodiesel and ethanol. The Fiji government has urged the company to move its $250million 'Fiji Biofuels Project' forward at the earliest possible date. Fiji Live - September 18, 2007.

    The Bowen Group, one of Ireland's biggest construction groups has announced a strategic move into the biomass energy sector. It is planning a €25 million investment over the next five years to fund up to 100 projects that will create electricity from biomass. Its ambition is to install up to 135 megawatts of biomass-fuelled heat from local forestry sources, which is equal to 50 million litres or about €25m worth of imported oil. Irish Examiner - September 16, 2007.

    According to Dr Niphon Poapongsakorn, dean of Economics at Thammasat University in Thailand, cassava-based ethanol is competitive when oil is above $40 per barrel. Thailand is the world's largest producer and exporter of cassava for industrial use. Bangkok Post - September 14, 2007.

    German biogas and biodiesel developer BKN BioKraftstoff Nord AG has generated gross proceeds totaling €5.5 million as part of its capital increase from authorized capital. Ad Hoc News - September 13, 2007.

    NewGen Technologies, Inc. announced that it and Titan Global Holdings, Inc. completed a definitive Biofuels Supply Agreement which will become effective upon Titan’s acquisition of Appalachian Oil Company. Given APPCO’s current distribution of over 225 million gallons of fuel products per year, the initial expected ethanol supply to APPCO should exceed 1 million gallons a month. Charlotte dBusinessNews - September 13, 2007.

    Oil prices reach record highs as the U.S. Energy Information Agency releases a report that showed crude oil inventories fell by more than seven million barrels last week. The rise comes despite a decision by the international oil cartel, OPEC, to raise its output quota by 500,000 barrels. Reuters - September 12, 2007.

    OPEC decided today to increase the volume of crude supplied to the market by Member Countries (excluding Angola and Iraq) by 500,000 b/d, effective 1 November 2007. The decision comes after oil reached near record-highs and after Saudi Aramco announced that last year's crude oil production declined by 1.7 percent, while exports declined by 3.1 percent. OPEC - September 11, 2007.

    GreenField Ethanol and Monsanto Canada launch the 'Gro-ethanol' program which invites Ontario's farmers to grow corn seed containing Monsanto traits, specifically for the ethanol market. The corn hybrids eligible for the program include Monsanto traits that produce higher yielding corn for ethanol production. MarketWire - September 11, 2007.


Creative Commons License


Sunday, September 23, 2007

France's 'Biomasse 2' plan attracts 56 candidates to build efficient CHP plants

In December 2006, the French Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development launched the 'Biomasse 2' plan, which aims to build highly efficient biomass power plants with a combined capacity of 300MW. The ministry now announces [*French] it has received 56 offers from candidate companies and consortia, worth a combined 700MW.

Candidates for the implementation of the national 'Biomasse 2' plan must demonstrate their capacity to generate both heat and power (CHP) from waste biomass obtained from agriculture and forestry, with an overall systems efficiency of at least 50%. Most traditional fossil fuel-fired power plants operate well below this threshold.

The plan was launched as a strategy to increase the use of biomass in France so that the country can achieve its European obligations, which call for a 20% share of renewables in the total energy portfolio of all EU member states by 2020. 'Biomasse 2' is also aimed at structuring and strengthening the biomass supply chain. Candidates for the project had to present a detailed overview showing that biomass supplies do not adversely impact other markets for the resource.

France is the world's leading nuclear energy producer, generating 75% of its domestic needs and exporting the rest to neighbors. But the country has a considerable potential for the production of biomass energy from both its large agricultural and forestry sectors. This resource will be used to augment domestic electricity supplies, allowing for a further growth in net exports of 'climate-neutral' nuclear energy:
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

The French Energy Regulation Committee will now examine the offers after which the Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development will select the winning candidates.

The selected projects will then be granted an electricity supply contract to deliver energy to state-owned Electricité de France or to another energy distributer, depending on the case.

The winning companies will be granted regulatory approval so that the plants can come online before January 2010. The 'Biomasse 2' plan is part of a larger national renewable energy strategy that focuses on decentralised production and on a diversification of the energy portfolio.

References
Ministère de l'Écologie, du Développement et de l'Aménagement durables: Jean-Louis BORLOO, ministre d'État, ministre de l'Écologie, du Développement et de l'Aménagement durables se réjouit du succès de l'appel d'offres pour la construction de centrales électriques alimentées à partir de biomasse - September 2007.

Enerzine: Biomasse : 56 projets à l'étude - September 5, 2007.


posted by Biopact team at 3:31 PM  

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home