Tag Archives: alternative
Forestry Commission Releases Biomass Harvesting Guidelines
Published: 5/7/2013 12:35:02 PM Columbia, SC — Foresters with the South Carolina Forestry Commission have developed guidelines which address the emerging practice of harvesting woody biomass for energy. Biomass generates energy. Forest products manufacturers have known this for generations and have produced their own electricity on-site using bark, sawdust, and other waste wood. “Woody biomass is a renewable resource that has the potential to supply 12-13% of the electricity used in South Carolina,” said Dr. Tim Adams, the Commission’s Resource Development director. The new biomass harvesting BMPs are aimed at protecting water quality, plant and animal diversity, soil nutrition/quality, and site productivity in and around harvesting operations. These are places where logging residue and other woody materials accumulate. The recommendations build upon our existing and successful Best Management Practices (BMPs) used by landowners and timber harvesters to minimize environmental impacts and stay within compliance of regulations. As was recently announced, SCFC sees a 93% compliance rate with its guidelines for harvesting timber. Logging, road building, site preparation, and even tree planting are intensive operations and reputable operators in SC can be trusted to work in such a way as to protect the land and water. On the national scale, South Carolina is a success story in this area. Wood demand is expected to increase dramatically in coming decades. The global population and even wood use per person both are on the rise as emerging markets and improving standards of living worldwide become the norm. As the “wood basket” of the world, the southeastern US is well positioned to play a major role. We have more standing wood today than we did 100 years ago. The vast majority of SC’s timberland is privately owned and the changes ahead bode well for our state, its people, its economy and its environment. Sustainable forestry is our insurance policy for the future. As woody biomass utilization gains momentum (initially for European markets as an energy source), we prepare by adapting Best Management Practices to biomass harvesting. As this new market develops, the SC Forestry Commission is committed to helping harvesters and landowners prepare for the future. More information and the guidelines themselves are available online. Visit http://www.trees.sc.gov/menvir.htm to view the BMPs, or call the Forestry Commission for more information. Continue reading
Rentech Drops Woody Jet Fuel For Wood Pellets
By: Northern Ontario Business staff The California energy company which once touted made-in-Northern Ontario green jet fuel now wants to make wood pellets. Los Angeles-based Rentech has drastically changed the scope of its project in Northern Ontario as it announced, May 2, it is switching gears by acquiring a shuttered Weyerhaeser fibre board mill in Wawa and and the Atikokan Renewable Fuels mill in Atikokan . Plans to convert a former Domtar mill in White River into a fuel refinery have been dropped. To make this happen, Rentech had to acquire a deep-pocketed partner in Georgia-based Fulghum Fibre, a leader in wood chip processing services. The Atikokan mill, owned by Ed Fukushima and Larry Levchak of Thunder Bay , is undergoing a conversion to make wood pellets to feed the nearby Ontario Power Generation power station. The Wawa mill will be converted to a wood pellet operation. In addition, Rentech has struck a long-term contract with Canadian National Railway to ship pellets from Wawa to the Port of Quebec, presumably for international customers. The company is hinting of employment opportunities for First Nations. Rentech had been signaling for more than a year that jet fuel was no longer in its plans. In 2011, amid much government fanfare, the province committed 1.1 million cubic metres of wood to Rentech and its local partners to set up a wood-to-aviation fuel refinery in White River to make low-carbon jet fuel. Almost 400 direct and indirect jobs were to be created. The so-called Olympiad Project was part ofthe province’s wood supply competition to put Ontario “wood back to work” in the larger overhaul of the Crown wood tenure system. Rentech president Hunt Ramsbottom said in 2011 that he expected to have an order book of air carrier clients by the time the plant went into operation in 2015. But later that same year, Rentech began retrenching on its plans and said it was looking for a deep-pocketed dance partner for the White River plant. Rentech said it was searching for partners and funding sources in a “financing package that would limit Rentech’s investment in the project.” Last February, Rentech decided to close an R & D plant in Colorado where it planned to find a profitable way to convert biomass into jet fuel. The company plans to “re-position” itself to take advantage of the a strong business fundamentals of the nitrogen market. Rentech is cutting all its spending on research and development activities from $21 million in 2012 to $10 million in 2013. Click here to find more articles on Rentech. Continue reading
Carbon Friendly Retains Sustainable Capital Corporation to Provide Research Report with Target Price
May 03, 2013 02:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time Carbon Friendly Retains Sustainable Capital Corporation to Provide Research Report with Target Price VANCOUVER, British Columbia–( BUSINESS WIRE )– Carbon Friendly Solutions Inc. ( CNSX: CFQ ) (the “Company” or “Carbon Friendly”) announces that it has retained Sustainable Capital Corporation (“Sustainable Capital”), a Canadian-based firm, to render an independent research report by the beginning of June, 2013 with a target price. Accordingly, Carbon Friendly has concluded its relationship with Expansion Funding, LLC (“Expansion”). “I am pleased with the interest that MicroCoal technology has received from major utilities in key international markets. Further, I look forward to working efficiently with Sustainable Capital to receive a report in a timely manner.” The Company reports it will continue to remain focused on seeking a listing on a US Exchange; however, in order to maximize the Company’s value in advance of a listing in the US, the Company will be focused on securing additional MicroCoal™ sales and opportunities. In addition to its current agreements, the Company will follow-through with other utilities and prospects that have expressed keen interest in the MicroCoal technology and its benefits. Slawek Smulewicz, CEO and Director of the Company, states: “ I am pleased with the interest that MicroCoal technology has received from major utilities in key international markets. Further, I look forward to working efficiently with Sustainable Capital to receive a report in a timely manner.” Furthermore, a total of 1,500,000 shares held in escrow by certain parties were released back to the Company and the shares have now been returned to treasury. About Sustainable Capital Corporation Inc.: Sustainable Capital Corporation is a Canadian capital markets advisory firm dedicated to serving emerging clean-technology and select life sciences companies. Sustainable Capital is committed to growing the Canadian clean technology sector and providing the investment community with objective research reports. About Carbon Friendly Solutions Inc.: Carbon Friendly Solutions Inc. , through its subsidiaries, is focused on the development of energy efficiency technology, renewable energy, and reforestation projects that have the potential to generate significant revenue. MicroCoal Inc . has an internationally patented technology that is expected to improve coal-fired utilities’ economic performance by reducing input costs, improving operations and simultaneously reducing their environmental footprint. Global CO2 Reduction generates Carbon Offsets from forestry projects that may be transacted through international voluntary markets. Carbiopel S.A. aggregates biomass supply and produces biomass fuel pellets for the European market, including large European utilities and independent renewable energy providers, in line with EU renewable energy directives. On behalf of the Board of Directors Carbon Friendly Solutions Inc. “Slawek Smulewicz” CEO and Director Forward Looking Statements Certain statements included in this News Release contain forward-looking statements, including disclosure concerning possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company. Forward-looking statements typically are preceded by, followed by or include the words – “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans”, or similar exp ressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions, and the Company’s results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Neither CNSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CNSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the release. We seek safe harbor. Please contact: Slawek Smulewicz CEO and Director, Carbon Friendly Solutions Inc. Telephone: (604) 676 9792 E-mail: info@carbonfriendly.com Contacts Carbon Friendly Solutions Inc. Slawek Smulewicz, 604-676-9792 CEO and Director info@carbonfriendly.com www.carbonfriendly.com Continue reading
