A derelict power plant in south-east Wales could soon be given a new lease of life as a biomass facility.
The plant at Llynfi near Bridgend was one of the coal-fired power stations to close in the 1970s, but Morgan Credit Energy is now seeking permission to re-open it.
According to the BBC, the company wants to transform the site into a biomass facility burning wood from sustainable sources.
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The price of corn has fallen slightly, which could encourage panic buying from animal feed manufacturers and biofuels producers.
According to Agrimoney, the price of corn has been steadily falling in recent trading on the commodities markets.
However, with there being an accepted shortage of cereals, thanks in part to increased demand for biofuels, some analysts fear that grain traders will look to snap up as much corn as they can at these lower values.
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The G20 nations are set to press the US to end government aid to the biofuels industry, it is claimed.
Increased demand for biofuels combined with state subsidies have resulted in a large increase in biofuel production, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trade diplomats believe that use of crops such as corn and rapeseed for biofuels production is putting unbearable strain on the cost of these commodities, and an end to US subsidies would go some way to restoring balance.
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Scotland's biomass industry could play a vital role in helping the country reach carbon emissions targets, it is claimed.
The European Union wants all member states to cut their carbon emissions by 20 per cent of their 1990 levels by the year 2020.
However, the Scottish government wants to be 100 per cent powered by renewable energy by 2020, and project developer Lifetime Recycling Village says that biomass will be a major part of this.
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Animal feed manufacturers and biofuels producers have been warned that corn stockpiles are set to fall even further.
According to a study by the US Department of Agriculture, even a fifth consecutive record corn harvest will not meet global demand for the cereal, Bloomberg reports.
An ever-increasing population and a sudden surge in biofuels production mean that corn consumption is set to rise by another three per cent in the next market year.
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Firms in the biomass industry operating in Scotland will be pleased to hear that the country's government has provided its backing for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI).
Scotland's energy minister Fergus Ewing has reached an agreement with Westminster counterpart Greg Barker that will see the plans implemented in Scotland also.
This means that the ambitious scheme to provide rewards for householders and businesses generating renewable energy – many through the use of biomass boilers – will be the same across the UK.
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Firms in the animal feed sector can expect high prices for cereals for some years, it has been suggested.
A new report from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said that there should be some easing from the high cost of cereals seen this year, according to Reuters.
However, it also warned that prices will remain higher than normal for the rest of the decade.
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Firms in the oil extraction from seed sector are facing a serious shortage of rapeseed, it has been claimed.
According to the latest study from Oil World, reported by Blomberg, stockpiles of rapeseed in the European Union (EU) are set to reach a four-year low.
This is due to a combination of factors. There has been heighted demand for use of rapeseed in the biofuels industry, while poor weather has damaged harvests and resulted in an 8.7 per cent reduction in output over the last year.
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A public meeting is to be held to discuss the merits of proposals to build a biomass plant in Norfolk.
Plans have been drawn up for a sustainable wood-burning facility at Snetterton Heath, close to the A11, according to the Eastern Daily Press.
The applicant, Iceni Energy hopes to generate 40 megawatts of energy each year by burning biomass pellets and straw, which it claims could power 65,000 homes.
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Permission has been given for work to begin on the construction of a new biomass power plant in Scotland.
The project, operated by Land Energy, will be the first in the UK to bring together biomass wood pellets and a new type of turbine that runs on waste heat, according to the Belfast Telegraph.
Built on the site of an old textile factory at Girvan, the facility will provide sufficient heart energy to power 15,000 homes, using timber sourced from local forests.
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