Category Archives: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy

Safe Wood Pellet Storage

Wood Pellet Association of Canada
June 12, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, International

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada, FutureMetrics and Ørsted are hosting a one-day workshop—Safe Wood Pellet Storage: Preventing, Detecting, and Managing Self-Heating Incidents in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 3, 2025. Join industry experts for a crucial discussion on the risks, detection, and prevention of self-heating incidents in wood pellet storage. This workshop will offer invaluable insights into major incidents, technical causes, risk mitigation strategies, and emergency response procedures, assisting professionals in enhancing safety standards across storage facilities. This workshop is a must-attend event for professionals seeking to enhance pellet storage safety, mitigate fire risks, and improve operational resilience in large-scale storage environments. Don’t miss this opportunity to engage with leading specialists and drive industry-wide improvements forward.

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‘Win-win’: new maps reveal best opportunities for global reforestation

By Damian Carrington
The Guardian UK
June 11, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, United States, International

New maps have revealed the best “win-win” opportunities across the world to regrow forests and tackle the climate crisis, without harming people or wildlife. The places range from the eastern US and western Canada, to Brazil and Columbia, and across Europe. If reforested, this would remove 2.2bn tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, about the same as all the nations in the European Union. Previous maps have suggested much larger areas but were criticised for including important ecosystems. …The result was a map showing 195 million hectares of reforestation opportunity, an area equivalent to the size of Mexico but up to 90% smaller than previous maps. …“Reforestation is not a substitute for cutting fossil fuel emissions, but even if we were to drive down emissions tomorrow, we still need to remove excess CO2,” said Dr Susan Cook-Patton, at The Nature Conservancy and author of the new study, published in the journal Nature Communications

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Pellets: A ‘Backyard Solution’ for Energy Needs

By Jonathan Levesque, Biomass Solution Biomasse
Wood Pellet Association of Canada
June 5, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Jonathan Levesque

Transforming wood waste into versatile wood pellets makes sense for Canada’s forest industry, the local and national economy and a world that needs clean, dependable energy. It’s been a busy time delivering news about biomass energy. In May, I represented the Wood Pellet Association of Canada at the Energizing Efficiency conference held in Fredericton, New Brunswick, delivered the webinar Driving Decarbonization and Cost Savings with Bio-heat during Bioheat Week and was a featured guest on the Reimagined Energy podcast. Pellets are a reliable and inexpensive source of energy for Canadians that can help with our heating needs. Rising energy costs mean wood pellet heat is competitive with heat pumps, cheaper than baseboard heating and less than oil and propane. In Canada, we do not have enough electricity to address the needs of the future. …Bioheat is an on-demand form of energy that can help alleviate pressure on the electrical grid.

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Register Now: Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s Annual Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia!

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
June 4, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Join us in Halifax, Nova Scotia, September 23-24, 2025 for Biomass for a Low-Carbon Future. As the world moves toward a low-carbon future, biomass and wood pellets play a key role in ensuring Canada has renewable and responsible energy. Join us to explore the numerous opportunities biomass presents, from reducing greenhouse gas emissions to supporting economic growth in the transition to a net-zero economy. Who Should Attend? Anyone interested in advancing electrification, including pellet producers, customers, First Nations and government officials, policymakers, regulators at every level, researchers, safety specialists, logistics personnel and equipment manufacturers.

Hear from experts around the world on key topics including:

  • Bioheat opportunities for Canada
  • Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage in action
  • Biomass’ role in reducing emissions in hard-to-abate industries and existing heat and power generation systems
  • Decarbonizing transportation with bioenergy innovations
  • Detecting, preventing and surviving self-heating in biomass storage

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Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s Spring 2025 Newsletter

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
May 30, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

In this month’s newsletter, you’ll find:

  • WPAC 2025 Conference in Halifax, NS – Registration Now Open
  • Nature and Nurture: Custom Installations at a New Brunswick Tree Nursery and Elementary School Highlight Versatility of Pellet Heat
  • WPAC Expands International Reach with New Website and Japanese Market Awareness Campaign
  • Pursuing a New CSA Standard to Heat Canada with Wood Pellets
  • Nearly $20 Million Invested in B.C. Forest Enhancement Projects
  • Trip Report: European Pellet Conference
  • Trip Report: 2025 Argus Conference

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Carney’s cabinet signals potential softening on climate

By Natasha Bulowski
National Observer
May 14, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced his new cabinet on Tuesday with a speech at Rideau Hall outlining his priorities — and like the speech, which did not mention climate change, the cabinet itself signals a potential shift in a new direction. Carney’s cabinet signals a “potential downgrading” of climate change and environment, says Mark Winfield, a professor of environmental governance at York University. …Carney appointed longtime business executive Tim Hodgson to serve as energy and natural resources minister and Toronto—Danforth MP Julie Dabrusin to serve as minister of environment and climate change. Dabrusin steps into the post held under Trudeau by Steven Guilbeault, who drew the ire of the energy industry and its political allies. Immediately following Dabrusin’s appointment, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith attacked her, too. Smith promptly took to social media after the swearing-in ceremony on May 13 to call Dabrusin “another anti-oil and gas Environment Minister.” [A subscription is required to access this full story]

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Driving Decarbonization and Cost Savings with Bio-heat

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
May 9, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada

May 14 @ 10 a.m. Pacific — Explore how bio-heat can tackle Canada’s heating challenges while reducing emissions and costs. With rising energy prices and reliance on imported fossil fuels, bioheat presents a renewable, low-emission, and economically viable alternative. Jonathan Levesque from Biomass Solution Biomasse will discuss real-life success stories, such as a Maritime church that cut heating costs by over 50 percent, showcasing the economic and environmental benefits of bio-heat. Bio-heat alleviates grid pressure, supports remote and rural energy needs, and addresses industrial heating demands. Globally, countries like Sweden and Austria demonstrate bio-heat’s potential through strong policies and incentives. Let’s “heat local” and build a cleaner, resilient energy future. (Busy schedule? You can also register and watch the webinar later.)

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Most of Western Canada’s glaciers ‘doomed’ to disappear, researchers find

By Stefan Labbe
Business in Vancouver
May 31, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West, International

Climate change has put Western Canada’s glaciers on track for devastating loss over the coming decades, with the southern half of BC expected to lose nearly 75% of the alpine ice — even if warming stops today, a new study has found. The planet has so far warmed an average of about 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures. If that increase climbs to 1.5 degrees C, 81% of Western Canadian and US glacier mass would melt, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Science. …Harry Zekollari, the study’s lead author and a glaciologist at Belgium’s Vrije Universiteit Brussel, said the international research team used eight glacier computer models to analyze the potential long-term evolution of the year-round ice. The results painted a dire picture for the world’s glaciers, as the planet has already locked in enough warming to melt 40% of the Earth’s year-round ice by the end of the century.

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BC climate action has reduced emissions, with economic success

By Mark Zacharias (SFU) & Rachel Doran (Clean Energy Canada)
Business in Vancouver
June 1, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Seventeen years on and the evidence is clear: B.C. has moved the needle on emissions. While the province’s population has grown 25% over this period, carbon emissions between 2008 and 2023 are down almost 5% — or nearly 7% if you measure from 2018, when CleanBC was announced. …BC’s industrial sectors, spurred by provincial regulation and investments, have done much of the heavy lifting. Heavy industries, including mining, smelting, pulp and paper, cement, steel, gypsum, and chemicals and fertilizers have seen emission declines of 16% over this period, while oil and gas production emissions are down 30%. …Admittedly, not everything is good news. The province is not on track to meet its 2030 climate target, and many CleanBC policies — including the oil and gas emissions cap, capping emissions from natural gas utilities and the clean transportation action plan — remain incomplete. …BC has announced a review of its CleanBC plan to be completed this fall. 

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Boeing invests millions in B.C., Quebec projects to manufacture sustainable jet fuel

By Stefan Labbe
Coast Reporter
May 28, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

Boeing Canada says it’s investing millions of dollars into business ventures in B.C. and Quebec with the eventual goal of producing close to 200 million litres of sustainable jet fuel every year. The announcement, made Wednesday, includes nearly $17.5 million split between two projects looking to turn wood waste and carbon captured from industrial smokestacks into sustainable aviation fuel. The fuel, known in industry as SAF, has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent over its lifecycle and “offers the fastest route to decarbonization in the aviation sector,” according to Boeing. Boeing’s latest investment will direct $10 million to Project Avance, a joint venture between Bioenergie AECN and Alder Renewables in Port Cartier, Que. The project aims to convert wood residue from sawmills into low-carbon bio-crude that can later be converted into almost 38 million litres of unblended jet fuel every year.

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BC leading Canada on methane reduction, says analysis

By Stefan Labbe
Business in Vancouver
May 22, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada West

BC’s goal to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is two years ahead of schedule, a new analysis has found. Released by the Pembina Institute Thursday, the report found the province was the only one in Canada to meet its 2025 oil and gas methane emissions reduction target. Between 2014 and 2023, natural gas production in B.C. grew 67%. But over that same period, methane emissions associated with the industry fell 51% — surpassing the 45% reduction goal the province set for itself for 2025. The progress is a positive sign for the industry at a time the carbon intensity of imports is becoming increasingly important to trading partners like the European Union, United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan, said Amanda Bryant, with the Pembina Institute. …“BC has shown that you can succeed in regulating methane gas emissions in a way that benefits instead of harms industry.”

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Digging deep: Fieldwork helping Canada prepare for a hotter, drier future

By Andrea Lawson
McMaster University
May 26, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

A love of the outdoors and a deep desire to make a meaningful impact on communities affected by climate change keeps Greg Verkaik going back to Western Canada. The PhD student studies peatlands and their role in wildfires. Climate change isn’t an abstract concept in his research, it’s something he’s been seeing and experiencing in the landscapes he’s visited since 2018 as part of this work. The 2025 wildfire season is already shaping up to be another intense year for Canada. Early signs point to another active and dangerous season, particularly in Western Canada. As peatlands dry and fire seasons lengthen, the risk of deep-burning, smouldering fires – the kind that can persist underground and reignite months later, continues to grow. This only strengthens Verkaik’s commitment to his research, which aims to better understand how peatlands influence wildfire behaviour and how they might be managed to reduce risk.

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Province investing more than $11M in forestry projects

Sudbury.com
May 23, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

The province is doling out more than $11 million to support projects that innovate and modernize forestry operations in northeastern Ontario. On May 21, the province announced $11.3 million for five projects through its Forest Biomass Program, which it says will create jobs, increase productivity, and identify new revenue streams. Hornepayne Power Inc. will receive the largest chunk, $7.5 million, which will be used to upgrade power generation equipment at its plant and support research into on-site green hydrogen production. GreenFirst Forest Products Inc., is receiving nearly $3 million to upgrade its biomass cogeneration plant, and an additional $130,000, which will be used to research the use of mill byproducts for torrefied pellets. Circular Carbon Canada Inc. is receiving $500,000 to study northeast sawmills as potential sites for pyrolysis plants, which use forest biomass to produce biochar, which is a substance used in power generation, soil amendment and water filtration.

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Inauguration of Carbonity, Canada’s first industrial-scale Biochar Plant: A Concrete Solution to Regenerate Soils and Sequester Carbon

By Carbonity
Cision Newswire
May 22, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

PORT-CARTIER, QC – Airex Energy, an innovative leader in the development of world-class decarbonization solutions, Groupe Rémabec, a cornerstone of Quebec’s forest industry committed to responsible transformation and decarbonization, and SUEZ, a global leader in circular solutions for water and waste, are inaugurating Carbonity today—the first industrial-scale biochar plant in Canada, located in Port-Cartier. Born from a partnership between the three companies, the plant begins with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tonnes of biochar, which is expected to triple by 2026, making it the largest facility of its kind in North America—and one of the most important globally. Biochar is recognized by the IPCC as one of the most effective technologies to combat climate change due to its long-term carbon sequestration capacity. In addition, its many benefits enhance agricultural resilience, drive sustainable innovation in construction and urban development, and support the decarbonization of heavy industries.

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Custom Installations at a New Brunswick Tree Nursery and Elementary School Highlight Versatility of Pellet Heat

By Gordon Murray
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
May 6, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: Canada, Canada East

Two new installations for Biomass Solutions Biomasse (BSB) at Kingsclear Tree Nursery and nearby Hanwell Park Academy school use low-carbon, locally sourced wood pellets to help reseed tomorrow’s forests and educate future community leaders in central New Brunswick. “We’re helping to fuel the future… At the nursery, it’s the full cycle, growing trees and using waste wood to help them grow. At the school, we provide a low-carbon heat source for New Brunswick children who will need a society less dependent on non-renewable energy,” said Jonathan Levesque, BSB General Manager. “The potential of biomass to help our future in Canada is bigger than people imagine.” The New Brunswick Climate Change Action Plan aims to reduce the use of fossil fuels in public buildings. The province decided to tender a low-carbon biomass heating system retrofit at the nursery.

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Does planting trees really help cool the planet?

By Julie Bernstein
University of California, Riverside
May 29, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, International

Replanting forests can help cool the planet even more than some scientists once believed, especially in the tropics. But even if every tree lost since the mid-19th century is replanted, the total effect won’t cancel out human-generated warming. …In a new study published in Communications Earth & Environment, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, showed that restoring forests to their preindustrial extent could lower global average temperatures by 0.34 degrees Celsius. That is roughly one-quarter of the warming the Earth has already experienced. The study is based on an increase in tree area of about 12 million square kilometers, which is 135% of the area of the US. …It is believed the planet has lost nearly half of its trees since the onset of industrialized society.  “Reforestation is not a silver bullet,” said Bob Allen, at UC Riverside and the lead author. “It’s a powerful strategy, but it has to be paired with serious emissions reductions.”

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Wood Pellets: America’s Underrated Power Play

By Darrell Smith
Real Clear Energy
June 5, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

In an energy conversation dominated by buzzwords and breakthroughs, it’s easy to overlook the quiet, proven solutions that are already delivering results. Exhibit A: wood pellets. These compact cylinders aren’t flashy or trend on social media. For the uninitiated, they are carriers of renewable carbon and energy, sourced from responsibly managed forests; a real, scalable, domestic resource that delivers energy security, climate value, and rural jobs while sustaining and growing forests. Wood pellets are emerging as one of the smartest plays in America’s energy and climate portfolio. …Every year, America’s 360 million acres of privately-owned forests grow more wood than we harvest. …Responsible forest management, the kind that thins out fuel for wildfires, not only keeps forests healthy but also supplies feedstock for wood pellets. …This is climate action with a hard hat, not a hashtag. …Wood pellets are real, scalable, renewable and a true American resource.

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Senators Whitehouse and Schiff Introduce Bill to Reduce Wildfire Risk with Innovative Carbon Removal Solutions

By US Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works
Government of the United States
June 3, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

Washington, D.C.—U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), and Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA) introduced the Wildfire Reduction and Carbon Removal Act of 2025, which would reduce wildfire risk by scaling up carbon removal solutions. Climate change is making wildfires more intense, which is causing hundreds of billions of dollars in economic losses each year, generating significant emissions, and creating a catastrophic feedback loop. …The Wildfire Reduction and Carbon Removal Act would create a tax credit to incentivize biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS) using flammable fuels in high-risk firesheds, providing much-needed resources for adequate wildfire management, and securely storing the carbon from removed vegetation to reduce overall climate risk. Only biomass meeting region- and ecosystem-specific criteria to maximize fire reduction benefits and avoid environmental harms would be eligible for the credit.

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Do Forest Carbon Credits Work and Actually Help the Environment?

By Andrew Thurston
The Brink @ Boston University
May 15, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

[Airplanes produce] a lot of emissions. In fact, the airline industry produces more greenhouse gases than many major countries. Most airlines … are pushing for cleaner fuels—and offering passengers the chance to help them offset a flight’s carbon emissions. Book a trip with a big carrier and you might be asked if you want to invest in forest preservation, saving enough trees to soak up your jet-setting’s environmental emissions. But is that really helping the planet or is it just a way for corporations to look better? A new study co-led by researchers at Boston University and the nonprofit Clean Air Task Force has found some of these efforts, known as forest carbon credit schemes, might not be doing much good. After examining the standards-governing programs … researchers recommend a series of new guidelines and improvements to “the carbon market system that would promote reliably high-quality forest carbon credits.”

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US agriculture secretary is ‘100% confident’ that exported biomass meets UK requirements

Bioenergy Insight Magazine
May 15, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States

The US agriculture secretary has said the UK could take more US wood pellets as biomass amid ongoing trade talks. Brooke Rollins told reporters the US is ‘100% confident’ that the country’s wood chips adhere to UK sustainability requirements. Rollins met with UK energy secretary Ed Miliband and energy minister Michael Shanks on 13 May. Her visit to London saw her promoting agricultural produce – including US wood pellets. This is despite ongoing questions surrounding the actual sustainability of the biomass sector. In particular, Drax, which is subsidised by the UK taxpayer, has come under scrutiny on several occasions.

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Study projects that increasing wildfires in Canada and Siberia will actually slow global warming

By Stefan Milne
The University of Washington
June 3, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

Even if you live far from the boreal forests in Canada and Siberia, you’ve likely noticed an increase in smoke from their forest fires. During major blazes in 2023, the smoke oranged the New York sky and drifted as far south as New Orleans. These blazes have surged in the last decade due to the effects of climate change — warmer summers, less snow cover in the spring, and the loss of sea ice. Experts expect that trend to continue. Yet recent climate change projection models have not accounted for the increase. For instance, the widely used sixth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, or CMIP6, released in the late 2010s, kept these fires constant at a relatively low severity. A new University of Washington-led study projects that in the next 35 years these increasing boreal fires will actually slow warming by 12% globally and 38% in the Arctic.

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Applying CATF’s Ground-Truth Forest Carbon Protocol Assessment to California

Clean Air Task Force
May 16, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

Earlier this week, Clean Air Task Force (CATF), alongside a team of leading U.S. forest carbon scientists, published a deep dive into the rules that govern a wide range of forest carbon credit certifications relevant to North America. The assessment examines rules of the road for quantifying carbon credits and identifies what works well, where there are weaknesses, and opportunities for improvements to ensure that forest carbon credits achieve their promised climate benefits… CATF’s assessment scored some elements of California’s current forest protocol that lays out the requirements for carbon credit certification as robust, such as the 100-year monitoring period for stored carbon in forests, and others as weak, like the risk assessment procedure.  While high-quality credits are possible under the current protocol, the bar needs to be raised to guarantee that credits are delivering on their promise.

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California Plans to Proceed with Carbon Cap-and-Invest Program Despite Pressure from Trump

By Mark Segal
ESG Today
May 16, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US West

California Governor Gavin Newsom released a revised proposal for the 2025-2026 state budget, containing plans to extend the state’s “Cap-and-Invest” program, requiring major emitters to purchase allowances for carbon emissions above a declining cap, through 2045. The Cap-and-Invest program, which was set to expire in 2030, is anticipated to result in a continuation of the California Climate Credit, resulting in approximately $60 billion available for utility bill credits to California residents over the duration of the extension. The proposed extension of the carbon pricing program comes despite growing pressure by the Trump administration and Republican state politicians targeting state initiatives charging companies for their greenhouse gas emissions. …Trump specifically called out California’s cap-and-trade system, in addition to new laws in New York and Vermont aimed at fining energy companies for their contributions to climate change. …Newsom said “California’s fundamental values don’t change just because the federal winds have shifted.”

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Churchill County residents push back against proposed wood pellet plant

By Taylor Burke
KOLO 8 NewsNow
May 14, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: US West

FALLON, Nev. – A proposed wood pellet processing plant in Churchill County is facing significant opposition from nearby residents who say it’s a great project in the wrong place. The facility, which would operate 24/7, is being proposed on McLean Road in Fallon. The man behind the proposal, Alex Pedan, is seeking a special use permit to open the plant, but neighbors are raising red flags over concerns about noise, dust, and declining property values. Amber Sanchez lives near the site and says she was notified about the proposal on April 29. She’s concerned that not everyone in her neighborhood received the same letter. …During Wednesday night’s Churchill County Planning Commission meeting, residents filled the room to speak out against the plan. Some said they supported the idea of a wood pellet business — just not in a residential or agricultural area. …In response to community concerns, Pedan claimed the plant’s equipment would be housed indoors, within a sound-insulated structure.

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Milestone reached on bioenergy plant in Newton County, Texas

By Scott Lawrence
KFDM News
June 10, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

TEXAS — A plan to open a bioenergy plant in Newton County has reached a new milestone with a landmark deal to supply wood for the site in Bon Wier. Mike Lout with KJAS, reports Nick Andrews, President and CEO of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based USA Bioenergy, announced on Tuesday that his company has signed a deal with the LP Corporation to supply the wood. According to LP, the agreement would provide up to 2.2 million tons of wood biomass for an initial term of 20 years that could not only help USA Bioenergy in Bon Wier, but also the logging and timber industry across Southeast Texas and west Louisiana. Andrews has said the main focus of the plant will be to produce Sustainable Aviation Fuel commonly known as “SAF” or bio-jetfuel for the airline industry.

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‘Georgetown is at a crossroads;’ 650+ residents sign petition against new biomass plant

By Perrin Moore
ABC15 News
June 9, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

GEORGETOWN, South Carolina — Over 650 Georgetown residents have signed a petition opposing a proposed biomass plant at the site of the International Paper mill that closed last year. The group Citizens for Georgetown says it is working to revitalize the town’s waterfront through “thoughtful redevelopment.” 653 people are opposing the plant that would generate energy for Santee Cooper from tree waste. …Citizens for Georgetown Chairman Tom Swatzel. “Now, we face a critical choice: leave decades of pollution in the land and water, continue with heavy industry OR clean up the site and reimagine these properties into a vibrant, sustainable future that benefits all residents.” …State Sen. Stephen Goldfinch expressed cautious optimism over the proposed plant, saying that it could involve an investment of nearly $4 billion and create new jobs.

 

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New law will require landowners to report enrollment in forest carbon programs

By Kate Cough
AP News
June 2, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

A law signed by Gov. Janet Mills last week requires landowners who are participating in the forest carbon credit market to report basic data — including a landowner’s name, contact information, date of enrollment and total enrolled acreage — to the state on an annual basis, information the state will use to create a database and track the impact of carbon credits on Maine’s forests… Maine landowners have so far been reluctant to participate in the forest carbon market. Reporting in 2022 found that only 3.5 percent of the state’s large landowners have made deals to sell their carbon, despite a market that has been around for decades. Small woodlot owners have also been reluctant to buy in, citing payments too low to justify the costs of complying with rigorous standards. The law will not require landowners to report on the financial value of the credits,  and will redact personal identifying information from reports and public records requests.

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Environmental groups offer support to residents in fight over biomass plant

By Charles Swenson
Coastal Observer
June 2, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

Of the two dozen people who showed up for a meeting to talk about a proposed biomass energy plant in Georgetown, five were from conservation groups. Another five were reporters. The rest were fewer in number than organizers hoped to draw to the 240-seat Soul Saving Station in Georgetown. It stands in the shadow of the International Paper Co. mill that closed last year. Last week’s meeting was planned as a follow-up to one held earlier in the month. 60 people who attended were eager to learn more about the biomass plant and its impacts on the county in general …The state House unanimously approved a bill this year that defines biomass as “renewable and carbon neutral.” …“At first, I thought it was a joke,” said Paul Black, who leads the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal initiative in the state. “This is worse than coal.”

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Georgia offers carbon credits for mass timber projects. How it works.

By Margaret Walker
The Telegraph
May 16, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: United States, US East

Georgia is the first state in the nation to create a carbon registry program that rewards sustainable building practices with carbon credits, with goals to boost both the state’s environment and economy equally. And while only one building project has made it to the registry since the program started, those who helped start the program are confident more developments in the Peach State will start taking advantage of the program soon. The Georgia Carbon Sequestration Registry, first developed in 2008, was originally created to help landowners certify the carbon stored in their forests. But as Georgia kept rapidly growing, lawmakers saw an opportunity to expand the registry’s impact, changing it to allow for financial incentive for constructing developments with mass timber. In 2021, legislation passed that gave the Georgia Forestry Commission a year to write the protocol for the amended carbon registry.

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New Zealand government sued over ‘dangerously inadequate’ emissions reduction plan

By Eva Corlett
The Guardian
June 10, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Hundreds of top environment lawyers are suing the New Zealand government over what they say is its “dangerously inadequate” plan to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050. It is the first time the country’s emissions reduction plan has faced litigation, and the lawyers believe it is the first case globally that challenges the use of forestry to offset emissions. …two groups representing more than 300 lawyers filed judicial review proceedings against the government in Wellington’s high court on Tuesday. The groups … claim … the government has abandoned dozens of tools to tackle emissions, failed to adequately consult the public, and too heavily relies on high-risk carbon capture strategies such as forestry. …They claim that the government is relying on “high risk” methods such as planting hundreds of thousands of hectares of introduced pine trees to offset emissions, and capturing carbon underground, with few alternatives to fall back on if something goes wrong.

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Climate strikes the Amazon, undermining protection efforts

By Rhett Ayers Butler, Founder of Mongabay
Mongabay
June 5, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Fires raged across the Amazon rainforest, annihilating more than 4.6 million hectares of primary tropical forest—the most biodiverse and carbon-dense type of forest on Earth. …It was the highest loss for the biome since annual records began in 2002. Sixty percent of that destruction was caused by fire—a record high. In Brazil, deforestation has plunged under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who moved swiftly to reassert environmental governance. But nature had other plans. Blistering temperatures and the worst drought in 70 years—fueled by climate change and compounded by El Niño—turned routine agricultural burns into runaway infernos. Lula’s reforms proved no match for an accelerating climate crisis or the long tail of past mismanagement. …What burns today is not only forest—it is also the hope that nature alone will heal. Without a concerted global response, the Amazon may soon pass the point of no return.

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New model evaluates efficiency of pistachio and walnut shells as low carbon fuels

University of Nottingham
June 4, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Researchers from the University of Nottingham and CSIRO Australia have developed a pioneering combined milling and combustion performance model to improve the selection of low carbon fuels for power generation. Published in the Journal of the Energy Institute, the study evaluates the milling and combustion properties of five biomass types—pistachio shells, walnut shells, rice husks, palm kernel shells, and wood pellets. Currently, around 8.3 million tonnes of biomass is used annually for pulverised fuel (PF) combustion in the UK, which accounts for 21% of the global wood pellet market. This is dominated by wood pellets and wood chips, followed by recycled and waste wood, with other types of biomasses making up only around 1% of the total. The majority of the UK wood pellet demand is also met by imports, with the United States and Canada being the major suppliers.

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Mining giant Rio Tinto growing native pongamia trees for biofuel potential

ABC News Australia
June 2, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Rio Tinto has started growing pongamia trees in northern Australia, as part of a biofuels project aimed at reducing the mining giant’s reliance on fossil fuels. Pongamia trees are native to Australia and produce oil-rich seeds that can be processed into renewable diesel… Earlier this year, Rio Tinto trialled 10 million litres of renewable diesel — created from used cooking oil — across its Pilbara iron ore operations in Western Australia. The biofuel got used across the supply chain, featuring in Rio Tinto’s rail, marine, haul trucks, surface mining equipment and light vehicles… Forestry Industry Association of the Northern Territory (FIANT) manager Hanna Lillicrap said it was great to see a major mining company getting involved in the forestry sector. “It reflects a growing recognition of the role forestry can play as a climate-positive solution in emissions reduction strategies,” she said. “It’s great to see serious investment going into research to better understand the species and its potential,” she said.

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Toyota’s Biofuel: a new lease on life for combustion engines

Global Fleet
June 1, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Even if conversations are dominated by electrification, Toyota is working on a different course to keep combustion engines relevant. A recent Nikkei Asia report reveals that Japanese automakers led by Toyota have opened a bioethanol facility in Fukushima, aiming to slash the carbon footprint of conventional engines with a new kind of “better biofuel”. …What sets this project apart is its focus on second-generation biofuels: non-edible plants and agricultural waste serve as the feedstock, rather than food crops like corn or sugarcane. By avoiding feedstocks that compete with food supply, Toyota’s program addresses a key criticism of traditional biofuels. …The choice of Fukushima for the facility is symbolic. The site reuses land in an area devastated by the 2011 nuclear disaster, turning “disaster zones” into productive, green-energy facilities. In doing so, Toyota’s project ties regional recovery to climate innovation. …Feedstock: Uses non-food biomass (e.g. wood chips, rice straw, plant waste) instead of edible crops.

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Calls for Drax to be forced to fully disclose its biomass sourcing

By Fiona Harvey and Jillian Ambrose
The Guardian
June 2, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

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The owner of the Drax wood-burning power station should be forced to disclose full details of its tree consumption, campaigners have argued, as MPs review the billions in renewables subsidies the North Yorkshire plant receives. A delegated legislation committee will decide on Monday whether to pass the government’s plans to extend billpayer-funded subsidies to the country’s biomass power generators, of which Drax is by far the biggest. Green campaigners said a condition of any extension should be that Drax published a key report by KPMG into its operations and sourcing. Reports by the auditor have been provided to the government and the energy regulator Ofgem but not the public. Ofgem has said KPMG shows Drax has not breached rules on sourcing trees for burning from environmentally sustainable forests.

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Gerolsteiner begins construction of biomass plant with E.ON

Bioenergy Insight
May 27, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Mineral water producer Gerolsteiner Brunnen has broken ground on a new biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant at its site in the Vulkaneifel region, Germany, in partnership with energy provider E.ON. The plant is set to significantly reduce the company’s reliance on fossil fuels and further its long-standing commitment to climate protection. Once operational in early 2027, the plant will supply up to 95% of Gerolsteiner’s heat demand and around 20% of its electricity needs. It will run on regionally sourced biomass, including wood chips from damaged or diseased wood, forest residues, and green waste, that would otherwise go unused in traditional wood processing industries… The project is expected to reduce the company’s carbon emissions by over 7,000 tonnes annually.

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Our forests are not spreadsheets: Why Nature demands more than market logic

By Robert Nasi, Director General
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
May 27, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

When I hear discussions about creating markets to “save nature,” a part of me is hopeful, but a bigger part is deeply cautious. Looking at how these market ideas have played out, like carbon markets, gives me pause. Forests, wetlands, and the natural world are not simple spreadsheets; treating them as such can lead us down a perilous path… Carbon, as CO2, is a global pollutant. A tonne reduced in one place has, theoretically, the same atmospheric impact as a tonne reduced elsewhere.This (imperfect) fungibility is what would allow a global carbon market to function. Biodiversity, however, is the epitome of diversity, local and unique. The specific mix of species, the genetic diversity and the intricate ecological relationships that define a patch of old-growth rainforest in the Amazon are utterly different from those in a Scottish pine forest or an Indonesian mangrove. You cannot swap one for the other and claim equivalence.

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Cardiff University research finds Amazon could survive drought, but at a high cost

Nation Cymru
May 26, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

The Amazon rainforest may be able to survive long-term drought caused by climate change, but adjusting to a drier, warmer world would exact a heavy toll, according to new research in which Cardiff University played a role. The findings show adapting to the effects of climate change could see some parts of the Amazon rainforest lose many of its largest trees, releasing carbon stored in them to the air, and reducing the rainforest’s carbon sink capacity. Parts of the Amazon are expected to become drier and warmer as the climate changes, but long-term effects on the region’s rainforests – which span more than 2 million square miles – are poorly understood. Previous research has raised concerns that a combination of severe warming and drying, together with deforestation, could lead to lush rainforest degrading to a sparser forest or even savanna.

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UK ‘could take more US wood pellets to burn for electricity’ amid trade talks

By Rebecca Speare-Cole
UK Independent
May 14, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

The UK could potentially take more US wood pellets to burn for electricity amid ongoing trade talks, Donald Trump’s agriculture secretary has said. Brooke Rollins, who met with Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Energy Minister Michael Shanks on Tuesday, said America is “100% confident” that its wood chips meet the UK’s sustainability requirements. Ms Rollins has been promoting US agricultural produce, including American wood pellets, on a visit to London this week as trade talks between the two countries continue following the preliminary deal struck on Thursday. But the biomass sector has long faced accusations of sourcing and burning wood from environmentally important or rare forests. Campaign and media investigations have alleged that Drax, which runs the UK’s biggest power station in Yorkshire, has used wood from environmentally important forests in North America.

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Even as emissions level off, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is growing faster than ever. Here’s why

by Issy Borley, Cathy Trudinger and Ray Langenfelds
The Conversation in Phys.org
May 8, 2025
Category: Carbon, Climate & Bioenergy
Region: International

Over the last decade, humanity’s emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) have stabilized after a period of huge growth. Average growth is now down to just 0.6% per year, compared to 2% per year in the previous decade. But leveling off isn’t the same as declining—and we’ve leveled off at a very high rate of emissions. The Global Carbon Project estimates human activities released a record high of 10.2 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2024. …CO₂ concentrations are increasing because we are still pumping massive amounts of long-buried CO₂ into our atmosphere. …natural carbon sinks are struggling to keep up. …This is a crucial moment. Our current rate of emissions will only cause CO₂ concentrations and global temperatures to rise. Natural carbon sinks will not pull out enough carbon to stabilize our climate on a timeframe meaningful to humans. The earlier the action and decrease in emissions, the better our future.

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