Tag: bioenergy

  • Bioenergy Capacity Continues to Increase

    – by Erin Voegele, September 26, 2014, Biomass Magazine The U.S. Energy Information Administration has released the September issue of its Electric Power Monthly report, indicating total in-service bioenergy capacity equaled 13,431.4 MW as of the close of July, up from 13,368.4 MW at the close of June. Overall, 313 MW of new bioenergy capacity was…

  • WE WON!! Environmental Justice Victory in DC, as Mayor Pulls Incinerator Contract

    – by Mike Ewall, Energy Justice Network We just stopped Washington, DC from approving a $36-78 million contract that was awarded to Covanta to burn the District’s waste for the next 5-11 years. In a rigged bidding process, the city allowed just four incinerators (no landfills) to bid to take 200,000 tons of waste a…

  • Study: Biofuel Crops Replacing Grasslands, Contributing to CO2 Emissions

    – April 4, 2015, Grand Island Independent A new study from University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers show that crops, including the corn and soybeans used for biofuels, expanded onto 7 million acres of new land in the U.S. over a recent four-year period, replacing millions of acres of grasslands. The study — from UW-Madison graduate student Tyler…

  • How To Reduce Premature Deaths Linked to Environmental Risks

    [Phasing out combustion-based energy such as fossil fuels and biomass energy can save lives] – by Nancy C. Loeb and Juliet S. Sorensen, April 8, 2016, Truthout [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_large”,”fid”:”542″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”style”:”width: 333px; height: 221px; margin: 3px 10px; float: left;”,”title”:”Photo: Gianluca Di Natale”}}]]Millions of deaths around the world are preventable every year without any additional spending on research for treatment.…

  • Maine Towns Vote Whether to Burn Trash or Make Biogas

    Actually, there’s a third (and better) option and it’s called Zero Waste. – by Andy O’Brien, April 7, 2016, The Free Press On March 31, 2018, it will no longer be economical for midcoast towns to send their household trash to the  Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. (PERC) incinerator in Orrington. That’s the date when the facility loses…

  • Energy Information Administration: Trash Incineration About Disposal, Not Energy

    The federal government’s U.S. Energy Information Adminstration puts to rest the idea that “waste-to-energy” facilities exist to create electricity, instead admitting that their main function is to dispose of trash, with electricity as a byproduct. – April 6, 2016, U.S. Energy Information Administration At the end of 2015, the United States had 71 waste-to-energy (WTE)…

  • Report: Climate Consequences from Logging Forests for Bioenergy

    A new report warns about the potential worsening of climate change from logging Canadian forests for electricity and heat, and recommends a “precautionary approach” regarding the expansion of biomass energy. Forest Biomass Energy Policy in the Maritime Provinces, written by Jamie Simpson for the Halifax, Nova Scotia-based East Coast Environmental Law, evaluates environmental impacts from…

  • Doctor’s Orders: Wood Burning Hazardous to Your Health

    – by Dr. Brian Moench, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment Civilization orchestrates the curbing of one person’s freedoms for the protection of others and the greater good. When two people’s freedoms are mutually exclusive, civilization embraces the concept that the freedom to not be harmed by others takes precedence. Traffic laws, zoning ordinances, and…

  • $181,000 Fine for Ethanol Air Pollution in Albany, NY

    – by Brian Nearing, December 12, 2014, Times Union An oil terminal operator at the Port of Albany has been hit with a $181,000 penalty by the state Department of Environmental Conservation for air pollution violations that lasted nearly a year. Buckeye Partners failed to properly control vapor emissions from ethanol — a corn-based biofuel used as a gasoline…

  • Covanta Settles for $536,211 in Lawsuit Over Biomass Ash Testing

    -December 11, 2014, Bakersfield Californian District attorneys from eight California counties announced Thursday the settlement of a civil environmental enforcement action against three subsidiaries of a New Jersey-based company. The settlement covers Covanta Energy LLC’s Kern County biomass energy facility in Delano, along with other company facilities in Mendota and Oroville. Kern County will receive about…