Denmark signs agreement on biomass sustainability
The Danish government, along with nine other parties holding seats in parliament, have agreed on legal requirements to ensure the sustainability of biomass used in the country.
The agreement will "provide greater assurance that the biomass used is as sustainable and climate-friendly as possible", the ministry for climate, energy and utilities said. Biomass accounts for the majority of renewable energy used in Denmark.
The new legal requirements replace the voluntary industry agreement — implemented in 2014 and covering plants with capacity of more than 20MW — that has so far regulated the sector, and is in some cases more stringent.
The agreement specifies that biomass consumed must be from legally felled trees, which are to be replaced through replanting. The agreement also stipulates that biomass must not come from countries where forests are in decline, unless from sustainably managed forests or forest residues. Emissions from the production chain must be "kept at a low level" and the agreement also strengthens requirements for documentation.
It will from 2021 cover industrial plants with capacity greater than 20MW, all electricity and heating systems of over 5MW, and biomass importers or manufacturers producing or handling more than 20,000 t/yr of wood pellets.
And the requirements step up from 2023, covering all power, heat and industrial systems of more than 2.5MW, as well as biomass importers or producers with output or throughput of more than 5,000 t/yr of woody biomass.
The ministry of climate, energy and utilities will have the authority to further tighten the limits from 2025. "The requirements are formulated flexibly for reasons of security of supply and consumer heat prices," it said.
Denmark has phased out 80pc of coal-fired power since 2009, energy industry association Dansk Energi said, partly through the conversion of significant coal-fired capacity to biomass. Danish state-controlled utility Orsted converted its 88MW Herning combined heat and power (CHP) plant to wood chip-firing in 2002, its 380MW Studstrup 3 unit from coal to biomass in October 2016 and its 254MW Avedore 1 in December 2016.
Its 95MW Skaerbaek CHP was converted from gas to biomass in 2017, and the coal-to-biomass conversion of its 25MW Asnaes plant — which also has 129MW of heat capacity — was completed in November 2019.
Of the woody biomass consumed in Denmark, around two-thirds is used for electricity and district heating, with the rest used for residential heating, the government said.
Related news posts
Brazil's cellulose sector to invest R105bn by 2028
Brazil's cellulose sector to invest R105bn by 2028
Sao Paulo, 22 August (Argus) — Brazil's paper and cellulose sector will invest R105bn ($18.9bn) to build new plants and logistics infrastructure as well as expand existing ones by 2028, Brazilian forestry industry (IBA) president Paulo Hartung said on Tuesday. Multiple companies will invest, with some already doing so. Suzano will invest R15.9bn to build a plant with capacity to produce 2.55mn metric tonnes (t)/yr of eucalyptus-based cellulose. It will also spend R6.3bn in other initiatives, such as building logistical infrastructure and planting. Chile's Arauco will invest R25bn to build its first cellulose plant in Brazil in 2028. The unit will have an initial production of 2.5mn t/yr and will double that by 2032. The project also foresees generation of 400MW of clean energy, which will ensure its energy self-sufficiency. Another Chilean company, CMPC, will also invest R25bn to build a new industrial plant and a port terminal in Rio Grande do Sul state. The 2.5mn t/yr plant will produce bleached eucalyptus-based cellulose, which can be used to make different kinds of paper, packaging and hygiene products. It is also used some food items, medicines and cosmetics. Eldorado Brasil will invest an additional R25bn to add a second production line in its Mato Grosso do Sul state operations and a railway to transport production. Bracell — which is controlled by Singapore-based Royal Golden Eagle — will invest R5bn in a paper tissue plant, which will be installed next to its cellulose plant in Lencois Paulista, in Sao Paulo state. The firm disclosed neither plants' capacity. Finally, Klabin — Brazil's largest producer of packaging paper and corrugated cardboard — also announced a R1.6bn investment, but did not detail how it will use that money. Hartung's announcement came during a sector meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and vice-president and trade minister Geraldo Alckmin. "These investments are being made in areas of low economic activity," Hartung said, adding that the paper and cellulose sector is planting cultivated forests that are replacing unproductive pastures. Brazil's paper and cellulose sector had 10mn hectares of productive planted areas in 2023, according to the federal government. The area to grow cellulose increased by 19pc in the first half of 2024 from the same period last year, it said, without giving a more recent figure. Brazil is the largest exporter and second largest producer of cellulose, according to Alckmin. The 47 companies linked to IBA produced 25mn t of cellulose, 11mn t of paper and 8.5mn m³ of wood panels last year, according to IBA figures. Additionally, Brazil exported a record 19.1mn t of cellulose, the group said. By Lucas Parolin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Canadian rail labor talks continue as deadline nears
Canadian rail labor talks continue as deadline nears
Cheyenne, 21 August (Argus) — Canadian railroads and a major labor union are still in discussions in the final hours before workers could go on strike. Contract negotiations between Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC), Canadian National (CN) and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) continued today, CPKC said. If there is no agreement tonight, the union at 12:01am ET Thursday could begin a strike against CPKC and each railroad could begin a lockout of workers. The Teamsters did not issue a required strike notice to CN, but a lockout would still shut its network down. Railroad customers and Canadian authorities are increasingly frustrated by the lack of agreement on new labor contracts. Teamsters members have been working under the terms of contracts that expired in December 2023. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau today urged the railroads and union to resolve the situation and avert a strike. "It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table to find a negotiated resolution," Trudeau said. "Millions of Canadians, of workers, of farmers, of businesses, right across the country are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution." Canadian minister of labour Steven MacKinnon yesterday said he met with Ontario's labour minister and would be meeting with each railroad and Teamsters officials in Montreal and Calgary "to deliver our shared message: Get a deal at the table. Workers, farmers, businesses and all Canadians are counting on it." Union members have voted twice to authorize a strike, and each railroad has indicated it will lock out union members at the same time. The latest indication is the strike could happen as early as Thursday 22 August. "CPKC remains focused on and committed to arriving at a negotiated outcome that is in the best interests of all our railroaders and their families," CPKC said today. "We are firmly committed to staying at the bargaining table to reach renewed agreements." The Teamsters and CN did not respond to requests for comment. Last week, the railroads initiated embargoes on shipments of toxic inhalation hazards (TIH) and poisonous inhalation hazards (PIH) materials. Those products include chlorine, ammonia, ethylene and phosgene, as well as rail security-sensitive materials such as explosives. Each carrier has now stopped loading trains in Canada and are focused on delivering existing shipments. Railroads also have stopped shipping trains across the US and Canada border, suspending the movement of multiple products. US rail regulators are actively monitoring the situation, concerned about how a rail labor strike in Canada would affect the US rail network and supply chain. The US Surface Transportation Board said Wednesday it is monitoring the implementation and effects of those embargoes on the network. A number of US railroads last week either implemented their own embargoes or said they will comply with the Canadian embargoes. Western US coal exports are not expected to have much of a disruption if there is a strike since US carrier BNSF has rail lines going directly to Westshore Terminals near Vancouver. But BNSF will not be able to interchange railcars with CN and CPKC in Canada. Crude markets are also not expected to see significant disruption from a strike in the short term because of pending maintenance at upstream oil sands facilities and spare pipeline capacity. Prices for Canadian propane and butane — which rely heavily on rail to move product from an oversupplied market to the US — fell Wednesday ahead of the strike . By Courtney Schlisserman and Abby Caplan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan adds to biomass power capacity over Jan-Mar
Japan adds to biomass power capacity over Jan-Mar
Tokyo, 8 August (Argus) — Japan's biomass-fired power capacity under the feed-in-tariff (FiT) and feed-in-premium (FiP) schemes rose during January-March this year. Japan added 167MW over the quarter, lifting total commercial capacity under the FiT and FiP schemes to 6,454MW, according to trade and industry ministry data. The capacity additions during January-March were lower than 489MW a year earlier but higher than 60MW during October-December 2023. Installed capacity fed by general wood biomass and crop residue totalled 3,875MW at the end of March, up by 11pc from the end of March 2023. Capacity firing with unused woody biomass rose by 8pc from the previous year to 544MW, while methane gas fermentation climbed by 12pc to 99MW. Capacity fed by general waste increased by 22pc to 564MW, with construction waste up by 59pc to 135MW. Japan's operational biomass-fired power capacity totalled 7,328MW by the end of March, including 874MW that was installed before FiT was introduced in July 2012 but not transferred to receive support from the scheme. This capacity accounts for 92pc of Japan's biomass power target of 8,000MW by the April 2030-March 2031 fiscal year. Total purchase costs for biomass power supplies under the FiT scheme reached ¥3.93 trillion ($26.9bn) for 150.7TWh from July 2012 to March 2024. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japan's Ozu biomass power plant starts operations
Japan's Ozu biomass power plant starts operations
Tokyo, 1 August (Argus) — The 50MW Ozu biomass power plant in south Japan's Ehime prefecture came on line today, having started construction in June 2022. It will burn around 200,000 t/yr of wood pellets imported mainly from southeast Asia to generate 350 GWh/yr of electricity. All the electricity generated will be sold to power utility Shikoku Electric Power Transmission and Distribution for 20 years under Japan's feed-in-tariff scheme. Ozu is operated by a joint venture that is 57.6pc owned by construction company Maeda Kensetsu, 35pc by upstream firm Japex, 6.4pc by Shikoku Electric Power's subsidiary Yonden Business and 1pc held by engineering firm Shinko Denso. Japex has invested in two 9.9MW biomass power units in Japan's northernmost Hokkaido prefecture, with the Abashiri No.2 and No.3 starting operations in October 2022 and March 2023 respectively. Its 75MW Chofu and 50MW Tahara biomass power plants are currently under construction. Chofu will start in January next year followed by Tahara in April. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
![Generic Hero Banner](/_next/image?url=%2F-%2Fmedia%2Fproject%2Fargusmedia%2Fmainsite%2Fimages%2F14-generic-hero-banners%2Fherobanner_1600x530_generic-c.jpg%3Fh%3D530%26iar%3D0%26w%3D1600%26rev%3D8ec86dce0f724687bd325a9a917cffae%26hash%3D9FD39B08C9D84A160C91A3649C40A186&w=3840&q=75)
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more