Tag Archives: bioenergy
EPA Launches New Online Mapping Tool for Environmental Impact Statements
An important step in the development of any bioenergy production facility inside the U.S. is the completion of an environmental impact statement (EIS). Mandated by the U.S. government and many states, EISs must be submitted to the regulatory bodies that either give the project a green light or reject the proposal. Knowing which companies and organizations that have submitted EIAs offers bioenergy insiders a broad assessment of the environmental precedents across locations where projects are being developed. Continue reading
New Forests Pty Limited : New Forests and Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation Agree to Collaboration on Bioenergy and Biofuel Developments
New Forests and Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation Agree to Collaboration on Bioenergy and Biofuel Developments Projects to be linked to New Forests forestry investments in regional Australia New Forests and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (“CEFC”) today announced that they have jointly executed a collaboration agreement to finance new bioenergy and biofuel developments. The new investments could include combined heat and power projects or renewable fuels projects featuring biodiesel or syngas associated with forestry investments in regional Australia. New Forests has invested in extensive forestry plantations in Australia, and the agreement may support establishment of new domestic markets for hardwood and softwood timber as well as traditional forestry and sawmill waste products. Under the collaboration agreement, New Forests will seek to develop commercially-oriented investment opportunities in renewable energy that complement regional forest sectors. New Forests’ Managing Director, David Brand, said, “This is an opportunity to diversify Australian markets for timber, turn waste material into energy, and create new jobs and investment in rural Australia. We see biomass based energy and liquid fuels as an area of substantial potential for growth, and an opportunity that could rival the size of traditional timber markets in the next ten or twenty years.” CEFC CEO, Oliver Yates, said “This is an excellent demonstration of how the CEFC can work with the forestry industry to enable bioenergy projects that will fulfil the potential for the industry to convert its waste products into a valuable renewable energy source. Investment in bioenergy can help reduce carbon emissions, lessen the reliance on traditional electricity and has the potential to boost productivity through reduced energy and operating costs.” Bioenergy presently provides 0.9 per cent of Australia’s electricity generation, but the Clean Energy Council estimates that this has the potential to increase six-fold by 2020 with the right support in place. “Linking Australia’s very significant forestry resources and skills and enhancing these through new clean energy technologies utilising cellulosic biomass will build a new industry of national value”, Mr Yates added. www.cleanenergyfinancecorp.com.au Page 1/2 New Forests’ investments already include 375,000 hectares of land and timber plantation assets in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia and Timberlink Australia, with two softwood sawmills located in Tasmania and South Australia. Many of these plantations were established under managed investment schemes and now need concerted effort to develop markets and infrastructure. “Market development is a key part of the work that needs to be done to reposition Australia’s plantation forestry sector for the future,” said Brand. “As an Australian business we seek to achieve excellent returns for investors, and innovation is a key part of that work.” The collaboration agreement is open to any projects brought forward by New Forests that meet the CEFC investment criteria. New Forests has identified a bioenergy plant in the Green Triangle alongside the Tarpeena sawmill as an immediate priority, as well as an assessment of the potential to use hardwood plantations for bioenergy and biofuel production at other locations. About CEFC The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has been established by the Australian Government to mobilise capital investment in renewable energy, low- emissions technology and energy efficiency in Australia. The CEFC’s flexible mandate and commercial approach provide an opportunity to achieve genuine market-based change by helping overcome the financial barriers that have previously prevented clean energy investment at scale. Learn more at www.cleanenergyfinancecorp.com.au About New Forests New Forests (www.newforests.com.au) manages investments in sustainable forestry and associated environmental markets for institutional and other qualified wholesale investors. New Forests executes three investment strategies that provide clients with diversity and choice around risk-adjusted returns, geography, and market exposure: sustainable timberland investment in Australia and New Zealand; forestry investment in high-growth markets of the Asia Pacific region; and conservation forestry and environmental markets investment in the United States. The company has offices in Sydney, Singapore, and San Francisco and currently manages AU$1.8 billion in funds and assets and over 415,000 hectares of land in Australia, the United States, and Asia. CEFC Media Line: New Forests media contact: Clean Energy Finance Corporation MaryKate Hanlon media@cleanenergyfinancecorp.com.au P: +61 02 9406 4105 Media line 0457 732 219 M: 0450 608 454 mhanlon@newforests.com.au www.cleanenergyfinancecorp.com.au Page 2/2 Continue reading
Are Subsidies for Bioenergy Necessary?
By Kolby Hoagland | August 02, 2013 When subsidies are discussed in the media there is often a negative connotation behind their assessment. Politicians face constant scrutiny for approving “government handouts” that are alleged to be unnecessary and wasteful. The bioenergy sector has numerous subsidies that it utilizes to better compete with the fossil fuel sector, which have a far longer run as mature industries and also receive considerable subsidies of their own . Today’s DataPoints looks at what happens when a subsidy is removed, reinstated… removed again, and reinstated again and that might give us insight into their need for the healthy growth of our industry. Over the last four years, the biodiesel industry has experienced an intermittently implamented $1 dollar per gallon blender’s tax credit from the federal government to that is meant to spark growth. In spite of the on again/ off again incentive, the biodiesel industry remains relatively healthy, even eclipsing the one billion gallons per year production mandate set by the EPA . The chart below shows monthly biodiesel production in the U.S. from Jan of 2009 to May of this year with the periods that the blender’s credit was allowed lapse. After the credit was first allowed to lapse in 2010, production decreased considerably and remained low. During the second lapse in 2012, production was up and down even reaching production milestones. There is not a clear trend on whether the subsidy is necessary from this simple analysis. To better understand the production swings and how much they were caused by the expiration of the subsidy, I reached out to Ron Kotrba from Biodiesel Magazine . Ron explained that 2010 was a complex time for biodiesel markets not only because of the lapse in the credit. The delayed implementation of RFS2, which did not occur until mid-2010, and the 2009 enactment of import tariffs by the EU caused further disruption to U.S. production beyond the loss of the federal credit during 2010. The reaction by producers to the loss of the credit in 2012 further supports the notion that the credit alone does not kill or keep the industry alive. During this second lapse of the credit in 2012, biodiesel production rose to record setting heights, peaking at 100 million gallons in May, a monthly level only reached three times previously. Production levels in 2010 and 2012, while the credit had lapsed, were not similar enough to draw illuminate conclusions of the potential need for the credit to keep the biodiesel industry alive. There is little doubt that the biodiesel blender’s $1 per gallon tax credit and other bioenergy subsidies spur production. Yet, whether the subsidy is needed for the survival of the industry is far more complex in its answer given the numerous influences on energy markets. However, if we look to the fossil fuel sector to help us anwer whether subsidies for bioenergy are necessary, the answer is inherently ‘yes,’ subsidies should be a permanent part of the funding structure for the long-term health and growth of the bioenergy industry. Continue reading
