Newsletter 32 Feb 2008

Bioenergy Australia’s annual conference, held at the Gold Coast International Hotel, Surfers Paradise, Queensland 26–28 November, was a great success with over 240 delegates in attendance, including a 20-plus person trade delegation from Brazil. Professor Andre Faaij from the Copernicus Institute at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, leader of the International Energy Agency’s Bioenergy Task on Sustainable International Bioenergy Trade gave the keynote address and was otherwise an active participant.

The Conference program had over 60 presentations covering policies and programs, projects and project development case studies and emerging opportunities on a wide range of topics including biomass resources and supply, liquid biofuels, biorefining, anaerobic digestion, pyrolysis bio-oil and bio-char, heat and power, and life cycle emissions and land use competition. A moderated panel discussion addressed the issue ‘Will Peak Oil Lead to Peak Soil?’

The technical tour on 28 November visited the Condong Sugar Mill cogeneration power plant, a wood energy pellet production facility at Woodburn NSW, a multi-purpose plantation, which includes a bioenergy aspect, and a bio-char field trial being conducted by the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

The conference presentations have been consolidated on to a CD and is available for sale. A few sets of the conference Proceedings are also available to those who could not attend the conference. See below for details on how to purchase the CD and/or the Proceedings.

The CD ROM from the Bioenergy Australia 2007 conference, held in Surfers Paradise, 26-27 November 2007 is now available for sale. The CD includes the conference program, speaker profiles, abstracts, delegate list, presentations and photos from the technical tour. The cost of the CD is $88. Proceedings are also available at a cost of $120. You can also purchase both the CD and Proceedings for $150 (all purchases include GST and postage & handling). For further details and to place orders please contact Stephen Schuck, tel: (02) 9416 9246, email: sschuck@bigpond.net.au.or Hanna Ulkuniemi, Conference Action, Tel: (02) 9431 8635, email: hanna@conferenceaction.com.au.

The Bioenergy Australia membership now includes 60 organisations. Recent new members are Connell Wagner; Demand Farming; and Pekabu Pty Ltd.

Bioenergy Australia wishes to further expand its membership and invites interested organisations to contact the Bioenergy Australia Manager, Dr Stephen Schuck on tel/fax (02) 9416 9246 or email: sschuck@bigpond.net.au if your organisation is interested in joining this government-industry bioenergy forum. Bioenergy Australia has a membership tier to cater for universities and for organisations with an annual turnover of less than $2 million per annum.

Bioenergy Australia will be holding a meeting on microalgae as a feedstock for bioenergy and bioproducts as part of its next day-long quarterly meeting, scheduled for 27 March in Canberra. If you are involved in algae research, development, demonstration or commercialisation, and wish to attend this by-invitation-only, free event, please contact Stephen Schuck, Bioenergy Australia Manager on Email: sschuck@bigpond.net.au Tel: (02) 9416 9246 for the details and for an invitation to attend. Bioenergy Australia Members would have already received notice of this meeting, which is one of Bioenergy Australia’s planned activities and membership benefits.

Submissions to the Garnaut Climate Change Review

Professor Ross Garnaut has been engaged by the State and Territories, and subsequently by the incoming Labor Federal governments, to conduct a Review, akin to the UK Stern Review, into options for Australia for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. A series of public forums have been held on selected topics, with Issues Papers based on the forums subsequently released for public comment.

On 10 December 2007, Professor Garnaut hosted a public forum on Research and Development: Low Emissions Energy Technologies in Brisbane. This forum sought to explore how innovation happens, and the role of government and the market in the development of low emission energy technologies. In particular, the forum focused on the rationale for the role of government, and sought to develop principles and appropriate policies for application to the innovation system in Australia. Steve Schuck, representing Bioenergy Australia, participated on a Panel within this Forum and at a linked working lunch.

The Garnaut Review Secretariat is now inviting interested parties to make submissions in response to Issues Paper 4 - Research and Development: Low Emissions Energy Technologies. This paper draws on the outcomes of the forum, stakeholder discussions, internal analysis, and commissioned reports. It aims to raise and explore issues, and seeks input on the key innovation market failures facing Australia’s industries in the context of climate change. The paper is available for download from the Garnaut Review website at http://www.garnautreview.org.au/CA25734E0016A131/pages/submissions-rd:-low-emissions-energy-technologies. Submissions should be received by 11 April 2008.

General submissions are open until Friday 29 February 2008 and may be submitted via

Email: Write 'Submission' in subject field of email, and send to contactus@garnautreview.org.au. or via

Post to: Submissions, Garnaut Climate Change Review, Level 2, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne VIC 3002.

The Australian Government has released a position paper on the preferred management approach to diesel/biodiesel blends to help provide certainty to consumers and industry. Prior to amendment of existing legislation of the Fuel Standards Act 2000 the Government is seeking comment from all stakeholders. The Position Paper can be downloaded from: http://www.environment.gov.au/atmosphere/fuelquality/standards/biodiesel/index.html

Alternatively, if you are interested in receiving a copy of the paper please contact:

Proposed Management of Diesel/Biodiesel Blends – Position Paper
Fuel and Used Oil Policy Section
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
CANBERRA ACT 2601
(John Gorton Building, PARKES ACT 2600)

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System – Submissions requested

As the next stage in developing the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System, the Department of Climate Change has released for public comment the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System, Regulations Policy Paper. This may be downloaded from http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/reporting/regulations/pubs/ngerregs-policypaper.pdf (421 kB).

The Policy Paper follows public consultation undertaken during October 2007 and aims to inform stakeholders, and seek feedback on approaches to the final Regulations.

Labor, in announcing its renewables policy, has promised to increase the proportion of renewables used to generate electricity in Australia from the existing 9.5% to 20% by 2020. This will be achieved by combining existing and proposed state and territory schemes with the Federal Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) scheme and increasing the MRET target from the current 9,500 GWh per annum to 45,000GWh thereby boosting Labor’s commitment to a total of 60,000GWh

As emissions trading and carbon pricing starts to take hold and has had an effect on change and technology uptake a proposed phasing out of MRET targets from 2020 to 2030 is planned to take place.

Under its renewable energy policy the Labor Government will provide funding for three new Funds. These will be partially funded by abolishing existing programs -the Commercial Ready program, the Low Emissions Technology Demonstration Fund scheme (LET-DF) and the vestigial reserves of the Greenhouse Gas Abatement Program.

Along with policies and funding for renewable energy technology the Labor Government will also provide funding for climate change initiatives including:

The NSW Government has established the Climate Change Fund which will provide $340 million towards saving energy and water. Under the Green Business Program applications are invited for projects that will save water, energy and greenhouse gas emissions in business operations in NSW. There are two funding streams –market transformation and direct measures. See: http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/grants/ccfgbp.htm

Queensland University of Technology has entered into an agreement with the world's largest agribusiness company, Syngenta, to develop technologies that will provide an economical, liquid biofuels for transportation. The multi-million dollar deal between QUT, qutbluebox, Syngenta and Farmacule Bioindustries, supported by the Queensland Government, that will see the establishment of the "Syngenta Centre for Sugarcane Biofuel Development" at QUT.

QUT's Professor James Dale, has pioneered groundbreaking genetic technology that has the ability to economically convert plant waste into valuable sugars, which can then be used to produce ethanol without compromising the sugar potential of the cane. As part of this project, he will now lead an international team of researchers to develop, to commercial scale, sugarcane that can yield cost-effective bioethanol from cellulose.

Wood Waste Power Plant Proposed for WA

Babcock & Brown and National Power are proposing a 40MW power station in Western Australia that would be fuelled by plantation forestry waste. The plant proposed for Manjimup in south west Western Australia would consume about 380,000 tonnes per year of plantation waste and would deliver net CO₂e savings of 261,279 tonnes per year, if the offsetting of additional conventional generation is taken into account.

Connell Wagner have released a public environmental review on behalf of the joint venture.

The Low Emissions Energy Development (LEED) Fund is part of the Western Australian state’s plan to cut 2050 greenhouse gas emissions by 60% below 2000 levels. The Fund supports new technologies such as bioenergy, wind, wave, solar and clean coal technologies that will reduce energy related greenhouse gas emissions in the State. The first round of funding for WA’s $36.5 million Low Emissions Energy Development Fund was called on 9 November 2007 and has now closed. It is expected that $8.5million will be available to suitable projects in 2008-09. Successful projects will be announced in the second quarter 2008. Further information is available from leed@dec.wa.gov.au or by phoning the Office of Climate Change on (08) 6364 6500.

Forest and Wood Products Australia has commenced operations, taking over work from the Government-owned Forest and Wood Products Research and Development Corporation. The new company will continue the FWPRDC’s research and development work, and will also be able to undertake marketing and promotion on behalf of Australia’s forest industries. The company will be funded through industry levies and matching Commonwealth payments for research and development.

CBH Group Secures Ten Year Grain Supply to Primary Energy’s Kwinana Biofuel Plant

Grain Pool Ltd (grain marketing arm of CBH Group) and Primary Energy have signed a ten year agreement which will see the production of over 160 million litres per year of ethanol for blending with fuels distributed by BP. Over 100,000 tonnes of fertiliser and other protein based co-products will also be produced for domestic and export use. Production will commence during the 2008-9 harvest at Primary Energy’s biofuel facility at Kwinana, WA. The agreement will benefit Western Australian growers, secure the long term viability of the Primary Energy ethanol facility at Kwinana and benefit the environment.

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The Victorian Myrtleford Sawmill operator Carter Holt Harvey (CHH) has adapted water treatment technology to achieve a 90 percent reduction in its on-site potable water consumption. The mill's boiler ash water recycling project, funded through the Smart Water Fund, reduced the amount of potable water used to cool hot ash waste from its boilers from 38 million litres a year to just 4 million litres.

Land requirement for transportation fuels: In 2006 approximately 1.5 Mm³ ethanol was produced in Europe, with the raw materials accounting for approximately two percent of the total wheat and sugarbeet production of that year.

The Internet provides a valuable source of information on biomass and allied topics. Below are some Internet addresses to supplement the 1,600 odd addresses given in the previous 31 issues of the Bioenergy Australia newsletters. These lists are consolidated as electronic links on Bioenergy Australia’s web page at http://www.bioenergyaustralia.org. These links are available within an Excel file to allow interested persons to download the file and work with them off-line.

Baseline Technical and Economic Assessment of a Commercial Scale Fischer-Tropsch Liquids Facility Report, April 2007

IEA Bioenergy Task 36 (Energy from Integrated Waste Management Systems) – new address

IEA Bioenergy Task 29 (Socio-Economics Drivers in Implementing Bioenergy Projects

Increasing Security and Reducing Carbon Emissions of the U.S. Transportation Sector: A Transformational Role for Coal with Biomass Report, August 2007

Technical and Economic Assessment of Small-Scale Fischer-Tropsch Liquids Facilities

IEA BioenergyTask 39: 'Commercialising 1st- and 2nd-Generation Liquid Biofuels from Biomass'

IEA’s Task 39 is a global network aimed at developing and using transport biofuels. There are currently 15 countries participating in this Task. Participants include researchers, governments and market parties wishing to exchange knowledge in order to make biofuels commercially available for the transport sector. Task 39 recently met in Rotterdam on 8 January, 2008 just ahead of the 6th European Motor Biofuels Forum, 9-10 January at De Doelen Centre in Rotterdam. Information on Task 39 is available from the Task 39 website (http://www.task39.org ) . There are two areas of focus for Task 39. The first focuses on technical developments of 2^nd generation biofuels and the second focuses on policies, markets and commercialisation of biofuels.

A number of reports have been published. Some are confidential and only available to participant countries participate (contact person for Australia is Dr Les Edye of QUT). Other reports are available to the general public and can be downloaded from the Task 39 website. These reports include:

· 2007: Biofuels in the European Union: An overview of the EU biofuels policy. This is a web page containing an overview of policies in Europe.

· 2005: Biodiesel market development in Europe: Lessons learned for North America (Phase 1)

· 2005: Ethanol from lignocellulosics: Policy options to support bioethanol production

Canadian Government Invests Canadian $500 million in Next Generation Biofuels

The Canadian government has launched the NextGen Biofuels Fund which will provide Canadian $500 million to support the development and production of the next generation of renewable fuels in Canada. With an abundance of cellulose based feedstocks with an energy content higher than conventional biofuel feedstocks, Canada is well placed to capitalise on next-generation renewable fuels.

The Canadian government under ecoENERGY for Biofuels, will provide up to Ca$1.5 billion in the form of incentives to producers of biofuels. In December 2007 new regulations requiring a 5% av. renewable content in petrol by 2010 were introduced with intent of 2% renewable content for diesel and heating oil by 2012. Canadian production of biofuels was around 400 million litres in 2006. To meet new regulations around 3 billion litres of biofuel would be needed. Source: 2007 Biofuel Review

Four biofuels research and development grants have been announced by the US Department of Energy Secretary totalling US $7.7 million.

Georgia Power and Yellow Pine Energy Company, LLC, a biomass-fired facility, have signed a 20 year contract for electricity generated wood waste. The Yellow Pine facility is scheduled to go into operation in 2010 and will produce 110 MW of bioelectricity. In 2006, the Georgia Legislature passed House Bill 1018 which exempts biomass from fuel sales and use taxes, thereby making it more cost competitive with traditional fossil fuels. This will increase Georgia Power’s energy portfolio to five qualified biomass and renewable facilities that generate 80 megawatts. Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the USA’s largest generators of electricity supplying 2.3 million customers in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties. See http://www.georgiapower.com.

Wales has begun construction of the world’s biggest biomass plant in Port Talbot, south Wales. It is expected to start operating in 2010 and the new 350-megawatt (MW) wood chip fuelled electricity generating plant, will supply electricity to around half the households in Wales. The plant will contribute about 70 percent to the Welsh Assembly's target of generating 4 Terawatt-hours of renewable electricity for Wales by 2010 and 7 Terawatt-hours by 2020. Designed to achieve an efficiency of 35 to 40 percent in energy conversion, it will operate for 8,000 hours each year or a capacity factor of over 91 percent. Electricity will be sent through a 275 KV cable to a local electricity substation to be fed into the national power grid. According to Prenergy Power (http://www.prenergypower.com) , the company building the plant, the 2.5-3 million tonnes of clean wood chip needed to power the plant will be imported from other countries such as Latvia and Lithuania as well as from sustainably managed forests in Canada and the U.S.A.

Eight biomass plants in the main grain producing provinces in China have commenced operation by The National Bio Energy Co, a subsidiary of China's State Grid Corporation, the country's principal grid operator. The country's first biomass plant started in the eastern grain-producing province of Shandong, in December 2006. The plants have a total installed capacity of 200 megawatts and are expected to burn 1.6 million tons of stalks a year and are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 800,000 tonnes annually.

Increased Funding for NZ Bioenergy Projects Announced

The NZ government has increased funding for Bioenergy research. NZ$45 million has been allocated over the next five years to encourage investment in agricultural emissions research. A further NZ$10 million is going to be invested in research and development, and commercialisation, of bioenergy and energy efficiency opportunities. Three key initiatives for which funding will be granted have been detailed:

· A pilot project to convert a number of school boilers from fossil fuels to wood fuels. A high proportion of schools currently use coal as fuel in Otago, Canterbury, Rotorua /Bay of Plenty and Auckland and these will be converted initially

· Research to find cost-effective technologies for collecting wood residues from forests for use as bio-energy.

Advisory Committee Updates Roadmap for Bioenergy and Biobased Products in the United States

The Roadmap lays out an R&D strategy and recommends policy measures needed to advance biomass technologies and help create an economically viable, sustainable and environmentally desirable biobased industry. The Committee’s Roadmap also reflects progress made since the Committee’s original Roadmap released in 2002, reflecting the dramatic rise in interest in biomass technologies that has occurred since then.

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science is establishing and operating three new Bioenergy Research Centres to accelerate basic research in the development of cellulosic ethanol and other biofuels with a total investment to over US$400 million. The Centres will bring together diverse teams of researchers from 18 of that nation’s leading universities, seven DOE national laboratories, at least one nonprofit organisation, and a range of private companies. All three Centres are located in geographically distinct areas and will use different plants both for laboratory research and for improving feedstock crops. The Centres will be located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Madison, Wisconsin and Berkeley, California and will consist of multidisciplinary teams of scientists. The role of these centres will be to work on transformational science needed to make biofuels financially viable and increase their use for transportation.

Finland’s Neste Oil's NExBTL Renewable Diesel has won the product category of the Finnish section of the European Business Awards for the Environment. Winners will also take part in a European-wide competition by the European Commission's Environment Directorate-General. The next European competition will be announced in Brussels in June 2008 during Europe's Green Week. NExBTL Renewable Diesel is the world’s first commercial second-generation biodiesel. Any vegetable oil or animal fat can be used to produce NExBTL, making it a versatile and flexible renewable fuel.

Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation has submitted plans to invest Canadian $105 million to build two electricity generation complexes in north-eastern Argentina. Each plant will consist of a 15.7 MW generation station powered by its bio-oil product, produced from wood waste and forest residue. The bio-oil will be produced by two 200-tonne-per-day modular plants. Excess fuel will be sold to commercial and industrial markets. Once the complexes are fully operational 340,000 dry tonnes of biomass will be produced annually which will allow for further expansion to other locations.

First Commercial Plant in U.S. to Produce Liquid Biofuel from Wood Residues to be Built by Dynamotive in Missouri USA

Dynamotive Energy Systems Corporation and its subsidiary, Dynamotive USA, Inc. have announced plans to invest US$24 million to build the first fully commercial industrial biofuel plant in the U.S. The facility will be located on a site in Willow Springs, Missouri approximately 300 km southwest of St. Louis. It is anticipated that 129,000 litres of biooil will be produced per day and sold to commercial and industrial users.

Green Circle Bio Energy Inc., a Florida-based company owned by JCE Group AB of Sweden opened the world’s largest wood pellet plant in Jackson, Florida in December 2007. The plant cost US$65 million and will produce 500,000 tons of pellets annually enough to generate 2,400 gigawatt hours of electricity. The pellets will be shipped to Europe, as there is little demand from U.S. power plants for woody biomass. Source: Biomass Magazine

Confluence Energy plan to open a US $8 million plant to produce up to 109,000 tonnes of wood pellets for use as fuel for heating stoves in homes. The low value woody biomass comes from deadwood found in forests that is of little value to the timber industry in Colorado. Benefits include new employment opportunities within the community, assistance to associated industries and low cost fuel for heating in homes.

The U.S. Senate passed the Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Act of 2007 -Title IX - Energy (H.R.2419) by a vote of 79 to 14 in December 2007. New programs established under this title include:

Quebec-based Vaperma, Inc. has developed a hollow fibre technology that increases the efficiency of the dehydration phase of ethanol production. The Siftek™ membrane can be easily integrated into existing technology and Vaperma anticipate putting it on the market in 2008.

Syngenta Seeds, Inc. has developed a new corn seed that contains the amylase enzyme used in the dry grind ethanol production process. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved bulk trials for the new seed. The new corn seed should be on the market in the 2009 growing season.

Masada Teams with Dominican Republic Co. to Develop Waste-to-Ethanol Projects

Masada Resource Group, LLC of Birmingham, Alabama, and RJ Zapata & Associates S.A of Dominican Republic are working to develop a commercial–scale waste to ethanol production facilities in the Dominican Republic. Fuel grade ethanol and electricity will be produced from domestic garbage.

Forthcoming Events

· Renewable Fuels Association (USA) 13^th Annual Ethanol Conference – Changing the Climate.
25-27 February 2008
JW Marriott Grande Lakes Orlando
Orlando, Florida
http://www.nationalethanolconference.com
· NSW State Energy Outlook Conference
27-28 February 2008
L’Aqua, Cockle Bay Wharf, Sydney
http://www.informa.com.au/nswpower
· EcoForum Conference & Exhibition 27-29 February 2008 Conrad Jupiters, Gold Coast
http://www.ecoforum.net.au/2008
http://www.corntechconf.org/
· ABARE’s Outlook 2008 Conference
4-5 March 2008
http://www.abareconomics.com/outlook
· World Sustainable Energy Days 5-7 March 2008, Wels, Austria. http://www.esv.or.at
· The 14th Annual Fuels & Lubes Asia Conference,
5 -7 March, 2008
Grand Hyatt Seoul, South Korea
http://www.flasia.info/seoul/program.asp
· BioEnergy to Electricity
6 - 7 March 2008 Boulder, CO, USA
https://www.euci.com/conferences/0308-biogas/agenda.php
· CEP Clean Energy Power^® 2008
7- 9 March 2008
Stuttgart, Germany.
http://www.cep-expo.com

· GLOBE 2008 Conference and Auto Future Tech Summit.
12-14 March 2008, Vancouver, Canada.
http://www.globe2008.ca & www.autofuturetech.com
Email: info@globe2008.ca

· World Biofuels Markets
12 - 14 March 2008
Brussels Expo, Belgium. Contact victoria.adair@greenpowerconferences.com. Tel: 0044 207 801 6333. Members of Bioenergy Australia are eligible for a 15 percent discount on the published prices. Quote bioea when booking.
http://www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com
· National Oil Mallee Conference
14-15 March 2008
Vines Resort, Perth WA
Phone: 1800 625 511
http://www.oilmallee.com.au
· Canadian Renewable Energy Workshop
16 – 18 March 2008
IPSCO Place, Regina, Saskatchewan
http://www.crew2008.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Home
· 8th European Conference on Industrial Furnaces and Boilers (Infub-8) 25-28 March 2008 Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal at Forum Dom Pedro. http://www.cenertec.pt and http://www.cenertec.pt/infub
· Biofuels Summit
27-28 March 2008
Bangkok, Thailand
Contact: Salvo Global Tel: +65 6297 8545 Fax: +65 6336 1716
· LOw CO2 MOTION workshop – How to make low-carbon fuels and vehicles work for your fleet
Friday 28 March 2008
Berkshire College of Agriculture, Maidenhead, UK

http://www.tvenergy.org/pdfs/lowco2motion_invitation_08.pdf

· The 2^nd Newgrace China International Bioenergy (Shanghai) Exhibition
31 March to 2 April 2008
Shanghai, China Hotline: 86-21-34080282
Fax: 86-21-34085282 E-mail: nuogaisi2004@126.com Web: www.china-bioenergy.net
Contact Person: Maria 86 13023238802
· ARGUS Biodiesel Trading in Asia
3 April 2008
The Fairmont Singapore Hotel, Singapore.

http://www.argusbiodiesel.com/pdf/ArgusBiodieselTradinginAsia.pdf

· Bois Energie 2008 wood energy exhibition (free entry)
3-6 April 2008
Lons-le-Saunier, France
http://www.boisenergie.com
· Ethanol 2008 – local solutions for global issues
8-10 April 2008
Sydney Convention Centre, Daring Harbour, Sydney Conference Information:
Louise Jordan
General Conference Coordinator
BBI Biofuels Australia Pty. Ltd.
Email: ljordan@bbibiofuels.com Tel: 07 3360 7006
· BioPower Generation™ 9-10 April 2008
Le Plaza Hotel, Brussels Belgium
http://www.greenpowerconferences.com
· International Biomass ’08 Conference and Trade Show – Power, Fuels and Chemicals 15-17 April 2008
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
http://www.biomassconference.com Email: abstracts@bbibiofuels.com
· Workshop on ‘Health, Safety and Environmental Issues in Biomass Gasification Systems’
22-23 April 2008
Austria Trend Hotel Savoyen, Vienna Austria
http://www.vt.tuwien.ac.at/conferences/
· China EPower 2008 - Exhibition for Energy Generation Industry
22-24 April 2008.
Shanghai, China
http://www.china-epower.com
· RENEXPO® Central and South-East Europe 2008
24-26 April 2008
Budapest, Hungary
http://www.renexpo-budapest.com
· World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing
27-30 April 2008
Chicago, Illinois, USA,
http://www.bio.org/worldcongress2008/
· BIOENERGY FORUM 2008 “Fuelling the Growth & Sustainability of Biofuels in Asia”
28 – 30 April 2008
Swissotel Nai Lert Park Bangkok, Thailand
www.ibc-asia.com/bioenergyforum
· Sustainable Energy Regulation and the Market
28 - 29 April 2008
Central London
http://www.smi-online.co.uk/goto/08sustainable.asp?emref=S99EP92430530&
· 30th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals
4-7 May 2008
Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel, New Orleans, LA, USA. Email: meetings@simhq.org http://www.simhq.org/meetings/30symp/index.html.
· Enviro 08
5-7 May 2008
Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. http://www.enviroconvention.com.au Email: program@enviroconvention.com.au
· Kyoto: Policy in Practice - "An Industry Response"
7 - 8 May 2008
Sydney Harbour Marriott, Sydney
http://www.iir.com.au.
· 2008 China Biomass (Straw) Utilization Conference & Exhibition
9-11 May 2008
Beijing, China.
Tel: +86-01-84832643 Fax: +86-01-84861692 Email: straw@vip.163.com Contact: Benita Zhao
http://www.china-straw.com/event
· 3rd International Symposium MBT and Waste Sorting Technology
12-14 May 2008
Hanover, Germany
http://www.wasteconsult.de
· SMALLWOOD 2008 and Bioenergy & Wood Products
13-15 May 2008
Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Julie Lang at the Forest Products Society, conferences@forestprod.org.
http://www.forestprod.org/
· Genetically Modified Crops Summit
21-22 May 2008
Rendezvous Hotel, Melbourne
http://www.informa.com.au/gmcrops
· World Bioenergy 2008 Conference and Exhibition on Biomass for Energy
27-29 May 2008, Jönköping Sweden. http://www.worldbioenergy.se
· National Emissions Trading Summit
29-30 May 2008
Crowne Plaza Darling Harbour, Sydney
http://www.informa.com.au/emissionstrading
· International Conference on Renewable Resources and Biorefineries
1 - 4 June 2008
Rotterdam, Netherlands http://www.rrbconference.com/
· 2008 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference
2-4 June 2008
Kansas City, Missouri, USA
http://www.corntechconf.org
· 16th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition - From Research to Industry and Markets
2 - 6 June 2008
Feria Valencia, Spain
http://www.conference-biomass.com
· Third International Bioenergy Conference And Exhibition
3-5 June 2008
Prince George Civic Centre, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada.
http://www.bioenergyconference.org
· 17th World Hydrogen Energy Conference
15-19 June 2008
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
http://www.whec2008.com
· 24th Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo
16-19 June 2008
Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

https://www.fuelethanolworkshop.com/ema/DisplayPage.aspx?pageId=Registration

· Breaking the Chemical and Engineering Barriers to Lignocellulosic Biofuels
June 25 - 26, 2008 Washington, D.C., USA. http://www.ecs.umass.edu/biofuels/
· NSW Waste Management and Expo Conference 2008: Resource Recovery for Climate Recovery
16 - 18 September 2008
Luna Park, Sydney.
For further information, please contact: Veronica Dullens, Waste Management Association of Australia Suite 4D, 5 Belmore St, Burwood NSW 2134 Tel: 02 8746 5055 Email: veronica@wmaa.asn.au
· Waste 2008 - Waste and Resource Management - a shared responsibility
16 - 17 September 2008
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England
http://www.waste2008.com
· 4th International Conference “Biomass for Energy”
22-24 September 2008
Kiev, Ukraine.
http://www.biomass.kiev.ua/conf2008
· International Conference on Gasification in Fluidized Beds
21-27 October 2008
Xijiao Hotel, Beijing, P. R. China
Contact: Prof. Dr. Guangwen Xu
Institute of Process Engineering (IPE)
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)
P. O. Box 353, Beijing 100080. P. R. China.
Tel: 0086-10-62550075, Fax: 0086-10-62550075
Email: gwxu@home.ipe.ac.cn
· Second International Symposium on Energy from Biomass and Waste
17-20 November 2008
Venice Italy
http://www.venicesymposium.it.
· Clean Energy Council Conference & Exhibition 2008
24-26 November 2008
Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gold Coast, Queensland.
http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au
· Asia Pacific Regional ISES 2008
25-28 November 2008
Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre
Abstract closing date - 5 May 2008
C/- ICMS Pty Ltd
Level 3, 379 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.isesap08.com Email - isesap08@icms.com.au
· 5th International Conference on Combustion, Incineration/Pyrolysis and Emission Control 16-19 December, 2008

Chiang Mai, Thailand Email: srk@kmitnb.ac.th

Residues

Bioenergy and bioproducts reports: RIRDC and the CSIRO Energy Transformed National Research Flagship have collaborated in addressing Australia's knowledge gaps in biofuels and bioproducts, to produce a set of reports:

· Biobased products - opportunities for Australian agricultural industries

· Biofuel co-products for livestock

· Bioenergy, Bioproducts and Energy - a framework for research and development

· Biofuels in Australia - some economic and policy considerations

These reports were launched at the Bioenergy Australia 2007 conference and are available from RIRDC. Tel: 02 6271 4100 or from http://www.rirdc.gov.au.

CSIRO report for Caltex: The CSIRO has fairly recently released a 126 page report entitled The greenhouse and air quality emissions of biodiesel blends in Australia, by Tom Beer, Tim Grant and Peter K Campbell, for Caltex, on greenhouse gas and air quality emissions of biodiesel blends in Australia. The CSIRO report shows a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions occurs even with a two percent biodiesel blend. The report is at: http://www.csiro.au/files/files/phim.pdf (2718 KB).

Bioenergy Roadmap project: The development of an Australia Bioenergy Roadmap is underway, being led from the Clean Energy Council, with funding from the Federal Government’s Department of Environment, Heritage, Arts and Water Resources. A Roadmap workshop was held within the Bioenergy Australia 2007 conference, and subsequently a steering committee has been formed. The Roadmap process will involve broad stakeholder consultations. The project is scheduled to conclude at the end of June 2008. For further information contact Sarah Jones, Email sjones@cleanenergycouncil.org.au.

Biomass Action Plan: The European Union’s Biomass Action Plan from December 2005 is on the Web at: http://www.bioenergie.de/downloads/BAP%207%20dec%202005.pdf

ABC TV program segment on bioenergy: The ABC TV Landline program on 10 February featured sugarcane trash as a source of biomass for two 30 MW bioenergy power plants soon to enter commercial operation on the NSW north coast at the Condong and Broadwater sugar mills. The program may be streamed from : http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200802/r222563_877692.asx

Conference Proceedings: A four page article from Ethanol Producer magazine entitled ‘Sunshine Summit: A Review of Florida's Farm-to-Fuel Conference’ of September 2007 is at: http://www.floridaenergycommission.gov/UserContent/docs/File/EthanolProducerMag0907.pdf

UK ROC Scheme: The January 2008 response from the UK Government to changes to the UK ROC (Renewable Obligation Certificate) scheme is at http://www.dti.gov.uk/files/file43545.pdf. Suggested changes relate to co-firing of biomass with fossil fuels and to the use of energy crops.

Success in using low frequency magnetic waves: Researchers from the State University of Campinas in Brazil have shown success in using low frequency magnetic waves to boost the amount of ethanol produced through the fermentation of sugar. Their study is available as an open access article in the advance online edition of the American Chemical Society's Biotechnology Progress. http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/bipret/asap/pdf/bp070078k.pdf

Report: biomass fastest growing renewable in EU, largest potential

The European Biomass Association (AEBIOM) has released its overview of the state of bioenergy in the 27 member states of the EU. Recommendations for the then upcoming Renewable Energy Sources Directive are included. The report shows that biomass is by far the fastest growing renewable energy source and that it has the largest potential for clean energy generation within the Union.

http://www.aebiom.org/IMG/doc/Press_release_13Sept2007_Statistics.doc http://biopact.com/2007/09/report-biomass-fastest-growing.html

Bioethanol for Sustainable Transport: This report deals with the introduction and market penetration of bioethanol as a vehicle fuel, and the establishment of infrastructure for supply and fuelling of bioethanol. For more information: http://www.best-europe.org.

A CSIRO Report has found farmers could make an extra $3 billion a year by helping to produce clean energy and by offering carbon offsets to major polluters. See:

http://www.climateinstitute.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=4&Itemid=41

Nano-sieve for carbon dioxide separation: Researchers from Hanyang University in Korea, the University of Texas and CSIRO, have developed a new plastic material that allows carbon dioxide and other small molecules to pass through while preventing passage of larger molecules such as methane. The material is durable and can withstand high temperatures necessary for carbon capture applications. This material could well have application for separating the two major constituents of biogas; methane and carbon dioxide.

Source: CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering

Invitation to visit by Wimmera Biodiesel: Wimmera Biodiesel at Kaniva, Victoria is offering tours of an oil seed crush mill, pilot plant, blending facility and their 1.8 million litre per annum biodiesel plant, which is under construction and due to be commissioned in February 2008. For full details, photo gallery, business and employment opportunities within the company see http://www.wimmerabiodiesel.com.au.

BioGast supplies green gas from sewerage treatment plant: The sewerage treatment plant in Beverwijk, The Netherlands contains the first plant in that country to produce purified biogas for cars and homes. The plant produces CO2-neutral gas, with the same quality as natural gas. See: http://gave.novem.nl/gave/index.asp?id=25&detail=1840 and http://www.ngvglobal.com/market-developments/netherlands-water-board-puts-sewage-to-use-as-transport.html

Low cost home-made biodiesel: Since the authorities in the UK have exempted the first 2500 litres of home-made diesel from excise duty, production has increased significantly. EcoTec Resources UK, the largest supplier of DIY kits, has reported that 360 kits have already been sold. See http://gave.novem.nl/gave/index.asp?id=25&detail=1841 and http://www.etruk.com/.

Plantation Timber Industry Biosecurity Plan launched: The Plantation Timber Industry Biosecurity Plan (IBP) provides the blueprint for Australia's plantation timber industry in the fight against pests and diseases that threaten sustainability, profitability and viability. The plan can be downloaded from http://www.planthealthaustralia.com.au.

Blooming Futures is a not-for-profit workers' cooperative promoting the use of Pure Plant Oil in diesel engines. See: http://www.bloomingfutures.com

source: Biofuel Cities Project Database

ARC Grant awarded to CEEM: The UNSW based Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets has been awarded an ARC Discovery Grant commencing in 2008. The three year project topic is 'Understanding the interactions between emissions trading and wholesale electricity markets'.

Biofuels for transport: The Worldwatch Institute has published, Biofuels for Transport, a 450-page book with contributions by 16 global experts. It is available for purchase from: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5305

OECD delivers blow to EU biofuels plans: The OECD has issued a warning that government support for biofuels will cause food shortages destruction of natural habitats and make little impact on climate change. Download the full report at http://www.biofuel-cities.eu/fileadmin/template/projects/biofuels/files/Newsroom/OECD_Biofuels_Cure_Worse_Than_Disease_Sept07.pdf

Submissions to the Garnaut Climate Change Review

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System – Submissions requested

Three New Funds for Renewable Energy

Wood Waste Power Plant Proposed for WA

Increased Funding for NZ Bioenergy Projects Announced

Report: biomass fastest growing renewable in EU, largest potential