Fotolia/Patricia Usbeck
Biomass » 06.05.2013
Austria looks into microalgae
For more than a decade, researchers have been proposing microalgae farms on land not used for food crops, such as in deserts. Now, a group of researchers in Austria is joining the search for an industrial-scale process. read more »
Fotolia/Patricia Usbeck
Biomass » 23.04.2013
Energy crops versus food crops
German biofuels organization VDB conducted a survey to find out whether the current shift towards biomass is leading to competition between energy crops and food crops. The results may surprise you. read more »
DEPI
Biomass » 26.03.2013
Rising pellet prices
The price of wood pellets has risen in the first quarter of 2013 more than ever before in Germany according to the DEPV's Pellet Price Index. read more »
Rainer Sturm | pixelio.de
Politics » 14.03.2013
Conservative or conservationist? Not in Germany!
German weekly Der Spiegel, which has made a career out of denigrating renewables, now wonders whether the environment will survive the switch to green energy. In doing so, the weekly acts as though concern about the environment among proponents of renewables is something new – and as though conservation and political conservatism were something new in Germany. read more »
Foto: BMU
Bioenergy » 20.02.2013
Biomass bites the dust?
In early February, the bioenergy sector met with Environmental Minister Peter Altmaier to discuss the future of biogas in Germany and in the Renewable Energy Act (EEG). 150 participants went to the discussion and by the end were all disillusioned. The Biogas Association is accusing the Environmental Minister of having a predetermined opinion. read more »
Foto: Fraunhofer IWES/Mahler
Storing electricity » 04.02.2013
P2G takes a step forward in Germany
In a pilot exercise, the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology has succeeded in utilizing the power-to-gas process in small biogas plants. Biogas with a methane content of over 90 percent can be produced specifically for power production, with the elimination of complicated steps in the process. read more »
Foto: Arcanum Energy
Bioenergy » 14.01.2013
Selling biogas to municipals
German bioenergy association Fachverband Biogas says revisions to the country's Renewable Energy Act in 2012 hurt the sector more than they helped. And the situation is expected to worsen further in 2013. Arcanum Energy is apparently an exception, however. The firm's success is based on cooperation with municipal utilities and the marketing of biomethane. read more »
Foto: JuwelTop / pixelio.de
Biogas » 05.12.2012
Fewer new units, but bigger average size
The German Biomass Research Center (DBFZ) expects some 500 new bioenergy units to be built in 2012, a third less than last year, but a number of these projects are actually expansions of existing ones. read more »
Foto: Ingo Bartussek/fotolia
Bioenergy » 05.12.2012
Mixed performance for EU biomass market
EurObserv'ER published figures this week comparing the sectors of solid biomass, biogas, and municipal waste from 2010 to 2011. While the first sector shrank, the latter two grew, with biogas increasing by an impressive 18.2 percent. read more »
Foto: Schmack Biogas
Biomass » 19.11.2012
Biogas and organic farming
Germany is a world leader in biogas production and consumption, but, strangely, few organic farmers have such facilities. Now, the German Renewable Resources Agency (FNR) has begun a study to see how organic farming and biogas can be better combined. read more »