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NNFCC News Review: Feedstock Issue 61, April 2017

Category: feedstocks
Published: 11/04/2017
Author: NNFCC
Each month we review the latest news and select key announcements and commentary from across the Feedstock sector.

Foreword

Normally, when it comes to feedstocks, you know what you’re getting – the crops we grow as feedstocks have largely stayed the same for generations, the only thing changing being yields thanks to improvements in farming techniques – but this month that is different. Sugarcane is a common feedstock for the industrial production of ethanol and sugars for industrial fermentation. That repertoire could now be expanded thanks to scientists at the University of Illinois, who have managed to successfully genetically engineer a sugarcane crop that also produces significant quantities of...

Other News this Month Includes:

Policy

  • UK committee says agriculture must justify itself post-Brexit
  • European Parliament to debate palm oil phase-out
  • Scottish EPA announces regulations on crop residues for AD
  • Report finds pellets emissions lower than coal
  • EU states to be rewarded for switching to biomass
  • Renewable Obligation closes, Contract for Difference opens
  • Drax director appointed to Climate Change Committee
  • Netherlands pursues certification for small American forests

Markets

  • Drax provisionally successful in acquiring beleaguered pellet plant

Research & Development

  • GM sugarcane produces oil as well as sugar
  • AEG plans to commercialise CoalSwitch biomass fuel
  • Sequential cropping for more sustainable biofuels
  • ETI looks to improve biomass feedstock with investment
  • Most detailed database of European forest cover announced

Wood & Crop

  • Forestry stats show continued increase in wood fuel use
  • New Zealand farmer sets new wheat yield record
  • US Forest Service encourages reuse of excess wood for bioenergy
  • Pellet manufacturers aim to cut costs by diversifying feedstocks
  • New BEIS report backtracks on Pellet Forestry claims

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