Bioenergy Australia January 2016 Newsletter - New Event - Sydney Business Breakfast ; plus news round up |
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| | Welcome to the January 2016 Issue of the Bioenergy Australia Newsletter. In this issue we outline our next event - a Sydney Business Breakfast - and provide a brief news round up. |
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| What's in this Issue? Jan 2016 |
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REMIPEG Report : Part 2
- Biomass to power is on the rise globally
The World-Market Status special report – Using a variety of technologies to convert organic matter into fuel, biomass is a widely used renewable energy source in the global market. The primary markets for biomass are changing, and while transport fuels stabilise, heat and electricity are increasing.
Below is a brief snapshot from the report which predicts the future is one of growth.
| Cumulated
installed capacity
2014 | Growth rate
2013 to
2014 | Electricity
generation
2014 | | [GW] | [%] | [TWh/a] | Solid biomass | 64 | 4.5 | 161-445 | Biogas | 16 | 7.5 | 56-112 | Municipal solid waste | 11 | 5.5 | 39-78 | Liquid biofuels | 2 | 0.0 | 7-14 | Total biomass | 93 | 5.0 | 263-651 |
Figure 1. Global electricity generation from biomass in 2014.
Outlook still on a growth pathway - The market of electricity from solid biomass will grow steadily in the years to come. The same is true for the electricity markets for MSW and biogas – but still on a lower level compared to solid biofuels during the near future. The driving force behind the electricity market for biomass is not necessarily only electricity generation. Other aspects like waste management and a combined generation of heat and electricity (efficient heat provision) also play an important role during the development phase of such plants, improving the economic performance of such conversion units. Thus it can be expected that due to an increasing environmental awareness and growing markets for electricity especially in emerging markets such plants, based especially on organic waste, will gain more market share in the future.
Read more specifically on solid biomass, biogas, MSW and liquid biofuels using this link - http://www.renewableenergyfocus.com/view/43303/remipeg-report-part-2-biomass-to-power-is-on-the-rise-globally/.
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IEA Bioenergy Update
Australian Task Participation
Australian bioenergy experts participate in 5 IEA Bioenergy Tasks - Tasks 37, 38, 39, 42 and 43 - find out more on the Bioenergy Australia IEA Bioenergy Task webpages.
Task News Updates - Anticipated Meetings / Presentations this yearThe lists below set out the provisional dates for IEA Progress Meetings (attended by our Australian representatives - our 'National Team Leaders'), our anticipated Participation Group Meetings and also our draft webinar program for IEA Bioenergy topics. These dates are subject to change but will be firmed up as the year progresses.
IEA Bioenergy Progress Meetings 2016 - see individual Tasks for more details
- Task 37 – April (UK); 4th Quarter Progress Meeting (tbc);
- Task 38 – April (USA) ; 4th Quarter Progress Meeting (tbc);
- Task 39 – 2ndQuarter Progress Meeting (tbc); 4th Quarter Progress Meeting (tbc);
- Task 42 - 2ndQuarter Progress Meeting (tbc); 4th Quarter Progress Meeting (tbc);
- Task 43 - April (USA) Task 43 Study Workshop; 4th Quarter Progress Meeting (tbc);
In addition some of the Tasks are expected to hold Task meetings in conjunction with an IEA Bioenergy ExCo meeting in NZ In November, prior to Bioenergy Australia 2016 conference.
Bioenergy Australia IEA Bioenergy Task Participation Group Meetings 2014-2015 (at least three meetings per Task per year)
- Task 37 –April 2016, August 2016, November 2016 (face-to-face - ftf)
- Task 38 –May 2016, July 2016, November 2016 (ftf)
- Task 39 June 2016, October 2016; November 2016 (ftf)
- Task 42 –June 2016; September 2016, November 2016 (ftf)
- Task 43 –May 2016; October 2016, November 2016 (ftf)
IEA Task Webinars 2016 - preferably two per Task depending on the timing of IEA Bioenergy Progress Meetings and BA Meetings.Proposed dates are as follows:
- Task 37 –April 2016, August 2016
- Task 38 –May 2016, July 2016
- Task 39 June 2016, October 2016
- Task 42 –June 2016; September 2016
- Task 43 –May 2016; October 2016.
Further details will be announced as plans are firmed up. |
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What's Bioenergy Australia's involvement in IEA Bioenergy? Find out more on the dedicated IEA Bioenergy Task webpages on the Bioenergy Australia website.
Bioenergy Australia acknowledges the funding from ARENA's Emerging Renewables Program which enables Australia to participate in IEA Bioenergy Tasks. |
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National NewsQueensland to implement 3% ethanol mandate - The government of Queensland, Australia, recently passed a bill that requires the fuel industry to comply with a 3 percent ethanol mandate for gasoline and a 0.5 percent mandate for biobased diesel. The mandates take effect Jan. 1, 2017. Additional information is available on the Queensland Government website.
Queensland biofuel use likely to fall despite new E3 and B0.5 policies – Despite the good news on Queensland biofuels, biofuel use is expected to fall in Queensland despite a recent move to mandate a 3% ethanol blend that will require about 30% of the state's gasoline to be blended with E10 due to a crash in biodiesel imports. Biodiesel imports have slowed to a trickle as a result of an excise tax on imported bio-based diesel.
Cheaper Oil prices final nail for ARF Ltd - Biodiesel producer Australian Renewable Fuels Ltd. announced that its board of directors has regrettably placed the company into a state of voluntary administration, which the firm describes as “a form of insolvency arrangement that creates an opportunity for flexible and innovative approaches to bring about a better outcome for stakeholders than may otherwise occur in liquidation.” The company cites rapidly declining oil prices, the breakdown in correlation between crude oil and feedstock pricing, and “continued and destabilizing uncertainty of the [Australian] government’s policy in regard to biodiesel over recent years…” as reasons for the decision.
New South Wales gas station owners to be fined if don't update E10 with 94 octane labels - Gas station owners in New South Wales are at risk of up to A$1 million in fines for not updating their pump labels showing 94 octane instead of 91 octane following the introduction of E10. Fines could come as soon as early 2016 against companies and individuals if changes weren't made immediately.
Yorke Peninsula biomass “co-op” to be owned by local farmers - Local farmers will own and operate a new cooperative-style biomass business that will supply feedstock for Australia’s first straw-fuelled power company on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. The $100 million Yorke Biomass Energy project, launched in September 2015, has announced the cooperative-style business model that will see local biomass suppliers own and operate a new company called Yorke Biomass Supply (YBS). The benefits are multiple including local employments, cheaper electricity, environmental benefits, including potential improvements to sustainable local farming in terms of soil health, crop rotation and weed management, in addition to reduced greenhouse gases and improved energy security. Yorke Biomass Energy is aiming for the Ardrossan power plant to be operational by 2017.
Australian researchers develop new way to deliver CO2 to microalgae - In Australia, chemical and biomolecular engineers from the Melbourne School of Engineering have discovered a new way to deliver carbon dioxide to microalgae, which in turn, can be harvested to make renewable fuels such as biodiesel. Carbon dioxide is well known to speed up the growth of microalgae. However, the carbon dioxide has to be free of contamination or the algae die. Published in the research journal, Energy and Environmental Science, the new method purifies the carbon dioxide that is in power station flue gases by absorbing it into a liquid.
Algae.Tec completes commissioning, startup of nutraceutical plant - Australia-based Algae.Tec Ltd. has completed commissioning and initial start-up of an algae production plant to produce algae-based nutraceutical products at the company’s Manufacturing & Development Centre in Atlanta. The facility has a capacity of 50 tons of algae per year with flexibility to produce and test multiple algal strains based on nutritional requirements. The plant employs the company’s proprietary enclosed photobioreactor technology that provides a controlled environment for the production of algae products for nutraceutical applications. The company expects to secure an organic certification within the next few months. The global market for algae-based nutraceutical products is currently more than $250 million per year, according to Algae.Tec, which is in discussions with customers for offtake agreements for the plant’s algae products.
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| Date Claimer - Bioenergy Australia 2016 |
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Bioenergy Australia is pleased to announce that Bioenergy Australia 2016 will be held on the 14th and 15th of November 2016 with a technical tour on the 16th of November (Note - our Australian State and venue is yet to be confirmed). The Conference is being scheduled to link with the IEA Bioenergy EXCO Meetings that are to be held in Rotorua, New Zealand on the Wednesday Thursday and Friday of the previous week.
More details will appear on the Bioenergy Australia 2016 Conference webpage as they become available.
If you would like to express early interest in sponsoring or exhibiting at the Bioenergy Australia Conference or in offering a potential site tour as part of the Conference, contact Connie Crookshanks at co...@bioenergyaustralia.org. |
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International NewsUS DOE: Ethanol-to-hydrocarbon technology moves forward - Oak Ridge National Laboratory published an article in Scientific Reports on its new method to directly convert biomass-derived ethanol to a hydrocarbon blendstock and is continuing work with Vertimass LLC to commercialize it.
UK Report reaffirms the potential of bioenergy as a low carbon game changer - A new report “Delivering Greenhouse Gas Emission Savings through UK Bioenergy Value Chains” from the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI) reaffirms the potential of bioenergy as a low carbon game changer for the UK’s future energy system with its importance as a development priority heightened following recent energy policy announcements.
UK’s Green Sky project shelved - British Airways says that it has been forced to shelve a groundbreaking £340m scheme to create 16m gallons of jet fuel from London’s rubbish every year, partly due to a lack of government support. Enough green fuel would have been produced to power all BA’s yearly flights from London City airport twice over, with carbon savings equivalent to taking 150,000 cars off the road. But BA has told the Guardian Newspaper that the project had now been mothballed because of low crude oil prices, jitters among investors, and a lack of policy engagement from 10 Downing Street.
Watch the time-lapse build of the UK’s latest biomass power plant - Visible progress has been made with the construction of the 41 MW Templeborough Biomass Power Plant located in Rotherham. Progress can be watched on a time lapse camera of developments on site. The plant’s projected operational date is in August of 2017. Once open, the 41 MW of electricity generated at the facility will be enough to supply 78,000 homes and reduce CO2 emissions by over 150,000 tons each year. The full operation will include a 350,000 metric ton per year wood pellet manufacturing process and an associated biomass combined heat and power plant. Most of the wood waste will be collected locally from municipal waste sites where wood is segregated from other wastes, as well as from construction sites and other industrial and commercial waste collections, after which it will be processed and shredded before used as fuel in the biomass plant.
Two Chemical Companies to distribute biobased succinic acid in Africa, Australia - Reverdia and Protea Chemicals, a division of Omnia, announced recently that they have entered into an exclusive strategic collaboration agreement to distribute Biosuccinium, the biobased succinic acid produced by Reverdia, in Africa and Australia. The agreement also extends to potential investment in and off-take from future Biosuccinium plants. The two companies will work closely together to develop the African and Australian markets for bio-succinic acid.
US Navy to deploy biofuel-powered ships - The US Navy will deploy its so-called Great Green Fleet, a carrier strike group powered by biofuels and fossil fuels, early in 2016. A yet-to-be-announced carrier strike group will set sail powered by a mix of biofuels and fossil fuels, to showcase the Navy's goal to cut petroleum use by 2020. In addition to working on a mix of biofuel for powering ships the Navy has worked to upgrade infrastructure afloat and ashore to save energy.
UK’s award-winning WtE CHP plant comes online - A $365m waste-fuelled combined heat and power plant in Plymouth in the UK has begun operation. The Plymouth Energy from Waste Combined Heat and Power Facility took three years and £250m ($365m) to build. Around 245,000 tonnes per year of household, commercial and industrial waste will be burned at the plant, with the resulting 190 GWe and 60 GWth to be supplied to a neighbouring dockyard and naval base. At the base, the waste-fuelled power and heating are to replace a gas-based system, cutting CO2 emissions by around 77,000 tonnes per year according to the plant’s operator MVV Environment, a subsidiary of Germany’s MVV Energie.
US Ensyn to invest $100 million for wood waste biofuels - In Georgia, Ensyn plans to begin retrofitting a particle board manufacturing facility in Dooly County to produce 20 million gallons of renewable fuel from waste wood annually. The company is investing $100 million in the facility and hopes to have it online by January 2017.
US White paper highlights critical areas in pellet making process - A FutureMetrics White Paper released in January is dubbed as a useful "wood pellet making 101." The paper highlights several critical areas in the process of making wood pellets. Overall, FutureMetrics says pellet production should avoid bad surprises - “The best way to avoid bad surprises and losing money making pellets is to have seasoned expert advice as early in the project cycle as possible and to ask challenging questions that are informed by operational experience.” The full report can be downloaded on FutureMetrics website.
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Events Program 2016In advance of announcing our 2016 Program of Events, can you offer a presentation or technical tour?As part of the process of establishing our program of events and meetings for 2016 we are interested to hear from Members and Friends in the sector if they are keen to present their current project work or to offer a site / technical tour. We expect our program this coming year to deliver the following:
- Periodic day-long Meetings
- Business Breakfast Meetings
- Technical Tours
- Evening Presentations
- Webinar Presentations
- AGM
- Annual Conference
Contact us at co...@bioenergyaustralia.org to discuss opportunities and dates/times.
2016 EVENTS DRAFT PROGRAM NOW AVAILABLE
Our Draft Program for the 2016 year is available on the Bioenergy Australia Events webpage - note - this program is a 'work in progress' and subject to change. It will be updated regularly. Please contact us if you are interested in presenting or in facilitating a site visit. |
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| Business Breakfast - Sydney 10 February |
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Bioenergy Australia is pleased to announce the first event of 2016
'Pursuing Bioenergy Investment' - Business Breakfast
- Henry Anning, CEFC – Overview of the CEFC’s financial support mechanisms for bioenergy.
- Phil Kent, Foresight Group – Equity finance for bioenergy – approach and case studies.
- Susan Pond, US Studies Centre and University of Sydney - What does commercial success look like in the advanced bioeconomy in the USA?
- Amy Kean, NSW Renewable Energy Advocate - NSW Renewable Energy Action Plan.
See the Program and registration details for more information and note also our Speaker Biographies. Book your place at this event though this link. We thank our sponsors for this event - NSW DPI and CEFC. |
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Well Writ was established by Dr Joely Taylor in 2010 to provide technical writing and editing services to select clients in research, government and private industry. Joely has worked across the bioenergy, biofuels and timber industries since 1995 and was a research scientist at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) for ten years. She is an Accredited Editor (AE) with the Institute of Professional Editors Limited in Australia and an Editor in the Life Sciences (ELS) with the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences in the United States.
Well Writ specialises in editing technical documents and writing and editing government and consultants’ reports. Working closely with clients, Well Writ provides individually tailored services for both writing and editing requirements.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, Well Writ provides services to clients in Australia and New Zealand. Please contact Joely at well...@internode.on.net for further information on editing and writing services or browse the website at www.wellwrit.com.au for testimonials and a list of editing and writing examples.
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Membership DetailsInterested in Membership of Bioenergy Australia?As a Membership based organisation we need members to continue to thrive. Join us and find out more about bioenergy in Australia. Find details on Membership on who we are and what we do on the Bioenergy Australia web-site. Do you have news to share or promote? Contact us at co...@bioenergyaustralia.org. |
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