By: Donna Harman, President & CEO, American Forest & Paper Association The Hill A report on greenhouse gas emissions earlier this week by the International Energy Agency will have policymakers once again discussing sustainable energy options.  Reasons for this renewed interest range from energy security to protection of our natural resources.  Paper and wood products [...]

The Biofuels Center of North Carolina The Biofuels Center of North Carolina has completed its statewide woody biomass assessment-the first report of its kind. The Center coordinated with Raleigh-based Gelbert, Fullbright & Randolph (GFR) Forestry Consultants and the state’s seven economic development regions in 2011 to undertake the now-complete, three-part analysis of the state’s wood [...]

Wednesday, May 22, 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME) today introduced legislation, cosponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), that would recognize and promote the economic and environmental benefits of biomass thermal energy. The Biomass Thermal Utilization Act of 2013, or BTU Act, would amend the federal tax code to incentivize [...]

By: Wendy Moorehead University of Iowa A project that replaced an existing gas boiler with a new biomass boiler in the Oakdale Renewable Energy Plant, located on the University of Iowa Research Park campus, has won the Grand Place Award (first place in category) in the Energy Production Category of the 2013 Engineering Excellence Awards [...]

We are excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2013 PFI Annual Conference, July 28-30, at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. The PFI Annual Conference highlights the various applications of densified biomass fuel and attracts a broad range of individuals from the public and private sectors, academia, and local, state [...]

By: Erin Voegele Biomass Magazine On May 3, the U.S. Energy Information Administration published a set of annual statistics that include state-level estimates of consumption, prices and expenditures for woody biomass and waste biomass. The latest release includes data from 2011. According to the EIA, California led the nation with residential wood consumption in 2011, [...]

By: Barbara Tetreault Berlin Daily Sun BERLIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE – A group of homeowners gathered at Tea Birds Restaurant Tuesday night to celebrate the end of their addiction to home heating oil. “Every time the oil truck goes by, I smile,” said Marie Canning. Canning’s home is one of 36 Berlin homes that has or [...]

By: Wayne Faulkner StarNews Online The Port of Wilmington may reap the benefits of environmental regulations in Europe that have spurred a huge increase in demand for forest byproducts from the southeastern United States. Wood pellets, often used in wood-burning stoves, are taking the place of coal in many European power plants with the aim [...]

By: Erin Voegele Biomass Magazine The USDA has published a notice of funding availability for the Rural Energy for America Program for fiscal year 2013. The program provides financial assistance in the form of grants, guaranteed loans, and combined grants and guaranteed loans for the development and construction of renewable energy system and energy efficiency [...]

The Pellet Fuels Institute announced last week that New England Wood Pellet, LLC (Jaffrey  NH, Deposit NY, Schuyler NY) has officially qualified under  the Pellet Fuels Institute (PFI) pellet fuel standards program.  New England Wood Pellet, LLC (NEWP) is the first pellet manufacturer that can display the PFI Quality Mark on their bags, indicating that [...]