On September 28th, Maine Governor Paul LePage presented Pellet Fuels Institute member, Robert Linkletter, and his family with the prestigious Austin Wilkins Forest Stewardship. The award recognizes a Maine individual or organization that stands above its peers to show a continuous commitment or single exemplary contribution to the culture, heritage and future of the Maine [...]

By: Karl Lundgren Bloomberg Businessweek More than two centuries after coal power helped forge the world’s first industrial economy, Britain is going back to burning wood. Drax Group Plc (DRX) will spend $1 billion to turn the U.K.’s biggest coal-fired plant into western Europe’s largest clean- energy producer. The utility plans to convert one of [...]

By: Erin Voegele Biomass Power & Thermal Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Ala., recently announced that a biomass-related amendment she submitted for inclusion in the Tribal Energy Bill, S. 1684, was passed unanimously by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on Sept. 13. According to information released by Murkowski’s office, the legislation contains a provision for tribes [...]

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) has begun accepting grant applications for clean burning wood stove installations that displace electric or non-natural gas fossil fuel heating systems as part of its Residential Clean Energy Grant Program. This is the first in a series of activities that MEA plans to implement to help develop the bioenergy market [...]

By: Anna Simet Biomass Power and Thermal In conjunction with the release of a U.S. DOE report on the state of the U.S. combined-heat-and-power (CHP) industry, U.S. President Barack Obama has made an Executive Order to facilitate investments in energy efficiency at industrial facilities, which focuses on expanding the use of CHP. The order directs [...]

By: TIM BRADNER Anchorage Daily News Most people in Anchorage have little feel for the utter pain and financial hardship being caused by high fuel oil prices in Fairbanks and rural Alaska. We’re comforted here by quite reasonable natural gas prices, though we may yet get our comeuppance — we may run of natural gas. [...]

By: Hakan Ekstrom Canadian Biomass Woody biomass prices were down in the second quarter of 2012, according to the latest Wood Resource Quarterly. Prices fell between 2-10% in the key biomass consuming region of the U.S. as compared to the first quarter of 2012. North American shipments of pellets to Europe continue to steadily increase, [...]

By: Arthur “Butch” Blazer, Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, USDA Blogs.USDA.gov Across rural America, biomass like wood pellets and wood chips is helping communities diversify their energy sources, create jobs, and save money on utility bills. At the Forest Service, we are working to support biomass projects that help us manage wildfire [...]

By: Anna Simet Biomass Power & Thermal There is significant opportunity for the Canadian wood pellet industry to participate from the ground floor if Canada’s power industry evolves away from coal, but there are some hurdles to overcome, according to a new report released by the Wood Pellet Association of Canada. Those hurdles include the [...]

By: Tom Christofk Special to The Sacramento Bee Once again the United States seems headed for a record wildfire year. The wildfire season is just beginning in California, and the Robbers fire in Placer County is unfortunately a harbinger of things to come. Wildfires affecting California’s forests have been increasing steadily in size and severity [...]