Michigan’s Viking Energy Biomass Plant Still Closing The Viking Energy Biomass plant in Lincoln, Mich. is closing early despite being under contract until 2027 and a recent order not to let them out of the contract, according to reports. The company is moving ahead with plans to close the biomass facility and establish a solar and wind farm, although Michigan state officials say it won’t be large enough to replace the plant’s current 18 MW output that powered as many as 14,000 homes. The plant takes 225,000 tons of wood fiber annually as fuel and had been a key market for low-grade wood for ..read more

Novo BioPower Gets Some Breathing Room Novo BioPower CEO Brad Worsley says the Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service have signed contracts through 2033 to buy electricity generated by burning biomass. Snowflake biomass plant is the only one in the state large enough to take significant volumes of low grade wood, hog fuel and biomass. The plant had taken a hit during the pandemic as costs increased, and recent inclement weather had led to low inventories with uncertainty of operations before the contracts were renewed. The facility has also been affected by the sl ..read more

Novo BioPower Extends Key Arizona Power Contracts   Arizona’s only major market for pulpwood and biomass and a key part of the state’s forest health solution, Novo BioPower in Snowflake recently signed new 10-year power off-take contracts that allow the company to continue operating. The contract renewals had taken some time and the plant was months away from running out of wood. At a recent stakeholders’ meeting, Novo BioPower CEO Brad Worsley said the Salt River Project and Arizona Public Service have now signed 10-year contracts to buy electricity ..read more

June 2024 Subscribe Today Inside this issue FROM THE EDITORS A New Industry In the Northwest COVER STORY From The Woods To The Mills IN THE NEWS New Northwest Pellet Mill Moves Forward Collins Pine Sues Over Dixie Fire Mississippi Improves Hauling Regulations Is Climate Change New Enviro Weapon? Weyco Addresses Firefighting Issues DOE Funds Projects Focused On Biomass Georgia Ports Authority Is Prepared For Growth IN-WOOD HARVESTING Air Burners Morbark Sennebogen INDUSTRY COMES OUT TO EXPO RICHMOND When the East Coast Sawmill and Logging Equipment Exposition, or just Ex ..read more

Tigercat Triangulated Harvesting Head   In late September 2023, visitors to the Pacific Logging Congress live demo event held in Washington got a sneak peak of the new Tigercat 573 harvesting head processing logs on the end of a Tigercat 875E logger. Since then, multiple units have been testing in far flung regions from Alberta to Australia and the results are in. The 573 is shaping up to be a high performing, reliable head for roadside processing and harvesting. Best suited to medium and large tree profiles, the 573 has a 800 mm (31 in.) maximum cut capacity and offers optimal perfor ..read more

Titan Upgrades Tire Manufacturing Facility Titan International (Titan) has completed a major upgrade to its manufacturing facility in Des Moines, Ia. The $2 million investment is part of Titan’s multi-year strategic capital plan and includes the addition of two new 104-in. curing tire presses, which will accommodate the recently expanded AgraEDGE tire line. The expansion of the manufacturing facility is part of a series of strategic moves by Titan to increase output capacity and better serve its dealers and end-users. With the additional output capacity, Titan will contin ..read more

New Northwest Pellet Mill Gains Approval Air quality officials recently issued a final notice and approval for an air quality permit at a new wood pellet manufacturing plant to be built by Pacific Northwest Renewable Energy (PNWRE) on a 60 acre site leased from the Port of Grays Harbor, Hoquiam, Wash. According to permitting documents, the 440,000 tons/year plant will operate three truck dumpers, a chips cleaning line, two wet hammermills, four dry hammermills, 12 pellet mills, five wood pellet storage silos, a covered conveyor system to deliver wood pellets to the adjace ..read more

Drax Group Allies With Molpus Woodlands Carbon removals and renewable energy company Drax Group has partnered with Mississippi-based Molpus Woodlands Group in an agreement that will provide Drax with an option to purchase sustainably sourced woody biomass to fuel its bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) operations in the U.S. Southeast. Drax will have the option to take up to 1 million green tons per year of sustainably sourced fiber under a long-term fiber supply agreement. This supply will anchor Drax’s BECCS developments in the region, which will generate renewable baseload ..read more

Georgia Ports Continues Container Expansion Georgia Ports Authority approved contracts totaling $65.6 million for container yard work at the Port of Savannah’s Ocean Terminal, a 200-acre facility just downriver from GPA’s main container port. The board approved three project components, including earth compacting to prepare the site to hold container stacks, removal of a former bridge pier and preliminary utility installation behind the wharf structure. The work will be funded through revenue bonds GPA issued in 2022. Previously approved upgrades at Ocean Terminal include the purchase of eig ..read more

April 2024 Subscribe Today Inside this issue FROM THE EDITORS Wow, It Was A Good Time COVER STORY Wood Bio Conference Sets The Pace IN THE NEWS Enviva Proceeds Into Chapter 11 Alabama Funds TIMBER Project Biomass Power Assn. Has New Name Drax Allies With Molpus Biomass Innovations Asia Set May 13-15 AFC Mural joins Alabama Mural Trail DRYER ISLAND Baker-Rullman Bid Group Büttner Energie- Und Trocknungstechnik Dryer One Evergreen Engineering Fagus Grecon Hurst Lundelltech Mide-South Engineering Mühlböck PDI Sick Stela Drying Technology TSI USNR ATTENDEES SHOW UP TO PROG ..read more