{"id":604376,"date":"2026-05-26T07:44:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:44:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/604376\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T07:44:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T07:44:13","slug":"nz1-2-bn-loan-scheme-opens-biomass-pathway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/604376\/","title":{"rendered":"NZ$1.2 bn loan scheme opens biomass pathway"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2190 Return to the newsfeed<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

May 26, 2026 <\/p>\n

\"NZ$1.2<\/p>\n

New Zealand’s wood processing sector has welcomed a Crown-backed loan guarantee scheme as a practical mechanism for shifting away from natural gas, while calling on the government to extend support to biomass supply infrastructure as well as demand.<\/p>\n

The Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme, announced as part of Budget 2026, will see the Crown guarantee 80% of each supported loan, with banks required to pass lower interest rates on to borrowers. Individual loans are capped at NZ$50 million, the scheme runs for three years, and NZ$48 million has been set aside to cover potential losses. Businesses must consume at least 1,000 gigajoules of gas annually and demonstrate energy savings of at least 15% while maintaining or increasing production to qualify. The scheme is expected to open for applications from July or August.<\/p>\n

Mark Ross, chief executive of the Wood Processors and Manufacturers Association of New Zealand (WPMA), said energy insecurity had become a genuine threat to manufacturing growth and that the scheme offered a timely financing route to alternatives including biomass produced from wood residues and forestry by-products.<\/p>\n

However, Ross said access to finance for fuel switching was only part of the picture. Investment in biomass processing, logistics and infrastructure remained essential to building a reliable and cost-effective supply. Many regions already had the raw biomass resource, he noted, but the capacity to convert it into delivered fuel was the determining factor in whether manufacturers could realistically make the switch.<\/p>\n

WPMA also welcomed a separate Budget allocation of NZ$5.9 million for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority to investigate pathways away from gas \u2014 an area where the association has worked alongside the agency to help members reduce energy costs.<\/p>\n

The scheme comes against a backdrop of a tightening domestic gas outlook. Twelve of New Zealand’s 17 operational gas fields are expected to cease production within a decade, and officials estimate that full deployment of the NZ$1.2 billion facility could reduce gas consumption by up to 10 petajoules annually.<\/p>\n

Ross said WPMA would continue to support cross-party consensus on a long-term energy strategy. “The opportunities to solve our energy challenges are already within reach,” he said, describing the loan guarantee as one important component of a broader effort to build a more secure and affordable energy future for the sector.<\/p>\n

\n LATEST NEWS\n <\/p>\n

A research team led by Professor Yong Sik Ok of Korea University has developed a suite of technologies aimed at closing the loop on waste, with a hybrid biomass-to-energy system showing particularly strong results. Ok’s broader programme covers plastic upcycling, waste system resilience, and organic waste-to-energy conversion. The unifying principle is treating waste streams as…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A Dutch biomethane joint venture has received a major government subsidy commitment, taking its total public funding to \u20ac180 million and clearing the path to construction. EemsGas \u2014 a 50\/50 partnership between sustainable raw materials producer Perpetual Next and Dutch gas infrastructure company Gasunie \u2014 has been awarded an SDE++ operating subsidy of \u20ac149.8 million…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Anaergia has entered into a C$58 million contract with Neogenyx Fuels to deploy anaerobic digestion technology at a large-scale agricultural facility in the United States, boosting the Canadian company’s revenue visibility over the next two years. Under the agreement, Anaergia will provide turnkey manure handling, processing and digestion systems designed to produce more than 4,400…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A 50 kW micro-biogas plant on a dairy farm in Sulm\u00f3w near \u0141\u00f3d\u017a, Poland, has been recognised as a benchmark project in the country after demonstrating the ability to operate autonomously during power grid failures \u2014 a capability its designer says most agricultural biogas plants lack. The plant, designed and built by Integrotech sp. z…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

A biomass company near Glasgow has been fined \u00a3129,000 after a worker suffered partial severance of three fingers while attempting to clear a blockage at the Daldowie Fuel Plant in Uddingston. The incident occurred at SMW Limited’s site in June 2023. Garry Roberts, 57, a shift operator with 17 years’ experience at the plant, was…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

VORN Bioenergy has acquired the Hallertau biogas plant in Bavaria, continuing its European growth strategy through the purchase of existing facilities alongside new development projects. The plant has a capacity of 95 GWh, equivalent to the thermal energy demand of around 6,700 households, with gas fed directly into the public grid. It is operated primarily…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has committed \u20ac200 million to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ (CIP) Advanced Bioenergy Fund II (ABF II), marking the official launch of the fund with the EIF as cornerstone investor. ABF II targets a total size of \u20ac1.5 billion and will invest primarily in the development, construction and operation of new industrial-scale…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A standardised framework for tracking and certifying biogas and biomethane attributes has been launched by the I-TRACK Foundation and Global Gas Tracking, enabling certificates to be issued, transferred and redeemed across international markets. The I-TRACK Product Code for Biogas and Biomethane \u2014 known as I-TRACK(G) \u2014 was developed by a consortium of Evident Group in…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Casella Waste Systems and Waga Energy have held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a renewable natural gas (RNG) facility at the Chemung County Landfill in Elmira, New York, with the site having produced RNG since January 2026. The facility uses Waga Energy’s WAGABOX technology to upgrade landfill gas to pipeline-quality RNG, which…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Schroders Greencoat has acquired a 100% stake in APF Energy, a biomethane platform in the Netherlands, from SWEN Capital Partners and APF BV. The platform comprises six assets, including three fully operational sites and three under construction, plus a late-stage development pipeline. The sites produce biomethane from a feedstock mix of agricultural manure and food…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

A new report from the European Biogas Association (EBA) has positioned digestate as a key resource for European fertiliser resilience, published to coincide with the European Commission’s unveiling of its Fertiliser Action Plan. The report, Digestate in Europe: State of Play in 2026, estimates that the environmental and nutrient value of digestate exceeds \u20ac1 billion…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Indian renewable energy firm SAEL is planning to scale its biomass power capacity to 1 GW over the next five years, with paddy stubble as the primary feedstock. The company currently operates 11 power plants across Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan with a combined capacity of 165 MW, all fuelled by paddy straw. It describes itself…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

The Renewable Energy Association has unveiled the finalists for the 21st edition of the British Renewable Energy Awards, with the ceremony taking place on 11 June at the Sheraton Grand, Park Lane in London. The awards mark the REA’s 25th anniversary. Chief executive Trevor Hutchings said the finalists reflected ‘the expertise and determination shaping the…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Welsh clean energy company Compact Syngas Solutions has unveiled a next-generation waste-to-energy plant following the successful conclusion of a \u00a34 million government-funded demonstration programme. The Deeside-based firm developed its MicroHub plant under the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Hydrogen BECCS Innovation Programme. The system gasifies non-recyclable waste and refuse-derived fuel to produce hydrogen-rich…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Hungarian oil and gas company MOL Group is expanding its Szarvas biogas plant with a new biomethane unit that will enable renewable gas injection into Hungary’s national grid. The unit is expected to be completed by the end of 2026 and produce more than 7 million cubic metres of biomethane annually: equivalent to the natural…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

The Louisiana House of Representatives has voted unanimously to approve legislation aimed at strengthening the state’s wood pellet manufacturing sector. HB 670, introduced in late February by state Representative Charles Owen, passed the House on 13 May and the same day was reported favourably out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

German bioenergy group Verbio has reported a sharp earnings recovery for the first nine months of its 2025\/26 financial year, underpinned by record biomethane output and a strengthening greenhouse gas quota market. Biomethane production reached 1,040 GWh in the nine months to 31 March 2026, up 20% on the same period a year earlier, driven…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Three Atlas Copco Group technology brands \u2014 CRI-MAN, LEWA and Wangen Pumps \u2014 will present their combined portfolio of pumps, modules and systems for the biogas industry at World Biogas Expo 2026, taking place on 8\u20139 July in Birmingham, England. Together, the brands offer fully integrated solutions covering the full range of modern biogas and…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

With nine owned anaerobic digestion (AD) plants, a vertically integrated supply chain and institutional backing from one of the world’s largest pension funds, BioticNRG\u00a0is building a platform designed to outlast the policy uncertainty that continues to hold back the UK’s anaerobic digestion sector.\u00a0 The acquisition of\u00a0Evercreech\u00a0Renewable Energy Limited in Somerset\u00a0in\u00a0South West\u00a0England\u00a0is, on one level, a…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n

Burckhardt Compression has signed an agreement to acquire Fornovo Gas, one of Europe’s leading providers of gas compression solutions for biogas and compressed natural gas (CNG) applications. Founded in Italy in 1969, Fornovo Gas specialises in mid-sized reciprocating compressors and has built a strong market position across Europe. The company employs approximately 120 people and…
\n Read More \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2190 Return to the newsfeed May 26, 2026 New Zealand’s wood processing sector has welcomed a Crown-backed loan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604377,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-604376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}