Alternative Energy: US Pellet company in Maine selling 'heat' wood pellets seeks Investors : by Tux Turkel

A startup company in Orono is trying to convince mid-size businesses and institutions in New England that they can save money by converting from heating oil to wood pellets without buying any fuel or equipment.

The concept is intriguing, but some observers in the pellet-fuel industry say Pelletco LLC faces challenges to perform on a large scale over time.

High and volatile oil prices have commercial users looking for alternatives. The next year or so will help show whether selling just heat, rather than fuel and equipment, is a viable option in Maine.

Pelletco brings a wood-pellet boiler and a storage building, called a HeatPod, to a client's business, sets it up outdoors and connects it to the heating system. Pelletco operates and maintains the unit. The client pays only for heat, buying BTUs at a price that's nearly 20 percent below the cost of oil. Pelletco says it has 11 HeatPods installed.

The 3-year-old company has an ambitious growth plan. Financial material obtained by the Portland Press Herald shows that Pelletco, which expects to lose $366,125 this year, is seeking investors to transform it into a break-even energy-services provider with $3.5 million in earnings. That would require hooking up about 80 new customers by 2016, the company acknowledges.

The company has the support of a key lender for renewable energy that sees enough potential in the plan to provide seed capital; but its business plan has drawn a cautious response from more established members of the state's pellet-fuels industry.

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Alternative Energy: France seen turning to wind energy and solar power for ‘ecological patriotism’

Offshore Wind Park

France’s government begins a review of the world’s most nuclear-dependent country’s energy policy on Friday (14 September), strongly in support of its small and ailing renewables sector in an effort to boost local jobs and growth.

The French government will launch a second tender to build offshore wind parks on Sept. 16, followed by a third next year, a French industry source said on Monday, as the country seeks to become a leading player in the industry.

The French energy ministry declined to confirm the move, which is part of the previous government’s plans to increase offshore wind power capacity to 6 gigawatts (GW) by 2020.

Read more: France seen turning to wind energy and solar power for ‘ecological patriotism’ | REVE

Bloomberg.com: Germany Boosts Renewable Power Share, Outstripping 2010 Target - by Raier Buergin

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Germany Boosts Renewable Power Share, Outstripping 2010 Target - by Raier Buergin

Germany will produce 14 percent of its power from renewable sources this year, beating its own target three years early and setting the country up to exceed a more ambitious goal for 2020, the Environment Ministry said. Power from wind, water, the sun and biomass -- biological matter such as vegetable oils and animal waste -- accounted for 10.4 percent of total power generation in 2005 and 12 percent in 2006, and will be around 14 percent this year, the ministry said today in a faxed statement. The government had pledged to generate 12.5 percent of total energy from renewable sources by 2010.

Businessweek: Europe: No. 1 in Sustainable Energy - by Mark Scott and Cassidy Flanagan

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Europe: No. 1 in Sustainable Energy - by Mark Scott and Cassidy Flanagan

Saving the planet may not seem like the quickest path to riches. Yet plenty of investors are betting that sustainable energy will make them lots of money. Already the sector is fast becoming a multibillion-dollar industry, giving companies the chance to boost their profit margins and help fight climate change at the same time. Taking advantage of this investment revolution, a wave of European firms has pioneered alternative energy technology to help make Europe the world leader in reducing carbon emissions.

Report EU Directorate- General for Energy and Transport: Biomass: An Energy Resource for the European Union

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Biomass: An Energy Resource for the European Union

Worldwide, millions of people rely on biomass as an energy source. However, much of this is used in fairly simple, and sometimes polluting, combustion systems that are not very energy efficient. Use of available technology and biomass currently contributes around 3%, some 45 million tonnes oil equivalent ( Mtoe), of the energy needs of the EU. However, as set out in the White Paper: Energy for the Future: Renewable Sources of Energy, COM(97)599, the goal is to significantly increase the use of biomass, adding a further 90 Mtoe by year 2010. If these targets were achieved, biomass would provide around 50% of the energy derived from Renewables.

In the longer term, it is anticipated that biomass could contribute 20% of the current EU primary energy demand, with more than 20 million hectares used for fuel crops. In order to reach these targets, there is a need to understand the present position and to identify the main areas where further research and development can lower costs and improve efficiencies throughout the complete chain of production and use. By contributing to the costs of such developments, through the RTD Framework Programmes the EU encourages co-operation between Member States and between the public and private sectors.