Biomass Wars

The Ultimate Repository of Biomass Energy news.

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Nevada Opens New Gas-to-Energy Plant

April 18th, 2012 by Jax
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Waste Management has opened another gas-to-energy power plant in northern Nevada at its Lockwood Landfill.  The landfill gas will be captured and converted to electricity – enough to power more than 1,800 homes.  Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval was on hand at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the first of its kind of project in the state.

 Nevada Opens New Gas to Energy PlantWhen organic materials break down, they create a gas comprised of nearly 55 percent methane gas (a gas more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of climate change).  The gas is captured via collection wells strategically placed around the landfill and then pipe the gas to the power plant. Once the gas arrives, it is used to fuel two generators.  It is estimated that the electricity produced will offset around 700 railcars of coal.

“The Gas-To-Energy Facility at the Lockwood Landfill ensures that not even garbage will go to waste,” said Justin Caporusso, Waste Management spokesperson. “By investing in landfill gas-to-energy, we are powering homes using the same waste that is left at the curb.”

Waste Management (WM) cites some benefits of the project including the plant is not dependent on other sources of energy like wind or solar; it’s reliable during peak energy hours; it’s an economical alternative to other fuel sources such as natural gas; and it’s endorsed by the Environmental Protection Agency.  In total, WM operates 131 landfill gas-to-energy facilities across North America equating to more than 9 million mW hours of electricity per year.

Paul Pabor, vice president of renewable energy for WM added, “Waste Management has been developing landfill gas-to-energy technology for over two decades, and we operate more of these facilities than any other company in the United States. As a leader in this industry, we understand how landfills operate and how to use technology to extract the most value from the waste stream.”

 Nevada Opens New Gas to Energy Plant

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Arizona Agri-Weekly: planted cotton at 38 percent

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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Two-thirds of Arizona’s durum wheat crop has headed.

cotton planting Arizona Agri Weekly: planted cotton at 38 percent

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California Crop Weather: hail storms damage stone fruit

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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Grapevines continued to leaf out while vineyards were pruned and sprayed.

img2438 California Crop Weather: hail storms damage stone fruit

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Spontaneous combustion at CSP plants, thermal insulation to blame

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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A leading renewable energy advisory firm in Spain has conducted research into the recent proliferation of fires at a number of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in Spain. According to the company, rock wool used to line the piping containing the heat transfer fluid (HTF) in these plants’ solar fields is to blame.

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Ascent Solar announces winners of Innovative Design Competition

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc., a developer of lightweight flexible thin-film photovoltaic modules, has announced this week the winners of its company-sponsored Innovative Design Competition. The winning team of students from Boston University, whose team developed a portable solar powered water purification system.

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Biomass industry leaders discuss priorities, challenges

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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Nearly 1,300 gathered at the International Biomass Conference & Expo held in Denver, Colo., April 16-19, to hear leaders of biomass industry sectors discuss current challenges, opportunities and goals.

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Emerging markets key to growth of wind industry

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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The global wind industry will install more than 46 GW of new wind energy capacity in 2012, according to a five-year industry forecast published today by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) at the EWEA 2012 Conference at Bella Center in Copenhagen. By the end of 2016, total global wind power capacity will be just under 500 GW, with an annual market in that year of about 60 GW.

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Conference keynote explains biomass potential for US DoD

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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Many attendees of the 2012 Biomass Conference & Expo were captivated by the keynote presentation delivered by 26-year U.S. Army Veteran Dan Nolan.

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Panel discussion features Boulder County, Colo., heating plant

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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The district heating plant in Boulder County, Colo., supplies five buildings and a total of 95,000 square feet. The plant was a trailblazer in Colorado’s forest-residue-to-bioenergy industry.

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Book Review – Roosters of The Apocalypse

April 17th, 2012 by Jax
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Roosters of the Apocalypse Book Cover Book Review – Roosters of The ApocalypseThe second book in my  2012 La Nina Reading List was “Roosters of The Apocalypse,” by Rael Jean Isaac. This book could be a dictionary definition of “opposite” as compared to Climate Wars. Where Climate Wars is on the far right side of hysteria of the evils of climate change, Roosters of The Apocalypse is on the far left side of hysteria that it is a major, orchestrated hoax upon the world that is costing us billions upon billions of dollars.

So what is a rooster anyway? Isaac quotes Richard Landes who describes “those who initiate and build support for these movements as roosters (aka Al Gore) for they crow an exciting new message, and their opponents as owls, gloomsters counseling caution and skepticism (Real Issac).” Issac weaves the message of the Xhosa throughout the book, a parable about an orphan girl’s vision of truth. I can’t tell you her truth because I was unable to follow the thread. Rather than explain it in one section, she drops little nuggets of the story throughout the book and not in a clear, concise way.  I could have looked up the story on Google, but quite frankly, I’m far to lazy to go to the trouble.

Anyway, the key to building momentum is getting “elites” to join the cause. Al Gore, or U.S. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid would be considered rooster elites.  Once that happens, ordinary people will join in.  Isaac tells the story of how the prophecy of global climate change caught fire and spread around the world in breathtaking speed.  While doing this, she deconstructs all the “deceptive techniques” and fakery” used by organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). I won’t rehash the scandal involved in their report but the bottom line was accusers claim they fudged the numbers to support climate change.

It is no doubt that those on the “right side of green” will make millions on global climate change.  

Issac writes, “Giant corporations see dollar signs in government-subsidized solar and wind power and in trading carbon credits under cap-and-trade schemes. They became deep-pocket lobbyists for the apocalypse.

owls 150 Book Review – Roosters of The ApocalypseThus began the metamorphosis of a thought to a full-blown climate change catastrophe.  “The process by which “global warming” morphed into “climate change” is a good example of apocalyptic jazz. (Apocalypses adapt to changed circumstances.) Starting in 2002, the world unexpectedly stopped warming even as carbon dioxide levels continued their steady rise. To the great chagrin of the roosters, none of the twenty multimillion-dollar supercomputers on which they based their predictions had foreseen this. Substituting “climate change” for “global warming” solved the problem.”

With the elite roosters leading the way, the movement was hatched, became a toddler and has now entered its teen years. But this movement needs to stop, says Issac, and one way to achieve this will be to take on the environmental groups. In her conclusion she writes, “Because the environmentalists have been able to play their game unchallenged for so long, making the case against them now is difficult. But if we don’t succeed, when the inevitable blackouts and energy rationing and sky-high bills come, it is the energy and utility companies that will be blamed for shortages and overcharging. The environmental groups, which are the real villains, will be leading the virtuous charge…and getting way with it.

I guess the big question to ask yourself is who is getting away with what? You’ll have to pick a side – either become a rooster or an owl – to answer that question.  Reading this book will get both sides fired up, it is short and accusatory.  But alas, it ends with a playbook of how to squash the fear around global climate change so no matter what side you’re on, you’ll know how to fight.

 Book Review – Roosters of The Apocalypse

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