August 28, 2017
Feedstock procurement practices can make or break a biomass or biofuel project. Good procurement managers buy feedstock from a mix of suppliers, juggling economics, quality, and supplier reliability. However, the mix of suppliers is often done at the procurement manager’s discretion relying on “gut instinct”. The “gut” approach can lead to sub-optimal results in terms of cost, quality and reliability. For example, cost may be low but there may be […]
August 28, 2017
Woody biomass supply chains are complex and the interactions between their different components are often hard to understand. Changes to the actual supply chain can be risky, as they may affect quality of feedstock and final bio-products, consistency of supply, and involve expensive capital investments… Computer simulation, on the other hand, allows for testing different supply chain scenarios at very little cost. Computer simulation methods are already used across other […]
August 28, 2017
The Hampshire Council of Governments (Council) is pleased to announce that Ann-Renée Larouche is the new Energy Specialist. This position will be instrumental in the creation and implementation of energy programs offered by the Council’s Electricity and Sustainability Departments, which are aimed at reducing energy costs for the Council’s electricity customers and at promoting and facilitating local, green energy generation. “I had the good fortune of starting my career in […]
August 28, 2017
Northampton–The Hampshire Council of Governments (HCOG) announced the hire of a new Director of Energy Operations today. Sinead Coleman reported to her first day of work on September 12, 2016. The position of Director of Energy Operations, which oversees the electricity and solar programs at HCOG, has been vacant since August fifth of this year. “We’re very lucky to have Ms. Coleman on our team,” said HCOG’s Executive Director, Todd […]
August 25, 2017
Hampshire Council of Governments (HCOG) is again bringing new sources of clean, renewable electricity to Western Massachusetts towns. This time it is in the form of methane produced from manure and food waste. HCOG has partnered with AG-Grid Energy LLC, whose agricultural anaerobic digesters convert agricultural and organic waste into renewable energy. Two local dairy farms, Rockwood Farms in Granville, MA, and Luther Belden Farms in Hatfield, MA, will use […]