Organizers of the first Bioenergy Fuels & Products Conference & Expo, scheduled for February 28-29, 2012, have announced the conference time frame, the list of topics to be addressed, and the first wave of speakers.

Hosted by Wood Bioenergy and Panel World magazines, and Georgia Research Institute, the event will be held in the Grand Ballroom North of the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The event is expected to draw more than 50 speakers, more than 50 exhibitors and several hundred attendees.

Topics to be addressed include:

• Heat Energy and Drying Systems
• Air Emissions Control
• Biomass Plantations
• Biomass Feedstock and Procurement
• New Generation Ethanol
• International Markets
• Biomass Power Plant Startup
• Operations Enhancements and Integration
• Pellets Distribution
• Machinery Performance and Controls
• New Plant Construction Challenges
• Pellets Auditing Procedures
• Drop-In Fuels
• Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Neutrality

The conference begins each morning with four keynote speakers, and then breaks out into three simultaneous topical sessions.

The time frame on February 28 includes:

7:15-8:15 Breakfast with Exhibitors
8:25-10:15 Keynoters Morning General Session
10:20-10:45 Time Out with Exhibitors
10:50-Noon Three Simultaneous Sessions
12:10-1:30 Lunch with Exhibitors
1:35-2:55 Keynoters Afternoon General Session
3-3:30 Time Out with Exhibitors
3:35-4:55 Three Simultaneous Sessions
6-8 Reception with Exhibitors

The time frame for February 29 includes:

7:15-8:15 Breakfast with Exhibitors
8:25-10:15 Keynoters General Session
10:20-10:45 Time Out with Exhibitors
10:50-Noon Three Simultaneous Sessions
12:10-1:30 Lunch with Exhibitors
1:35-2:55 Three Simultaneous Sessions
3:00 Exhibitors and Attendees Drawings

Speakers continue to be added to the conference. The confirmed list of speakers as of October 15 includes:

—Harold Arnold, President, Fram Renewable Fuels
—Chris Barber, Testing Laboratories Manager, Timber Products Inspection
—Richard Cantor, Vice President, Business Development, Southeast Region, Fagen, Inc.
—James Cash, Senior Product Engineer, Megtec Systems, Inc.
—Ross Harding, Principal, Energy Launch Partners
—Stephen Faehner, Vice President of Industrial & BioEnergy Sales, American Wood Fibers
—Jim Imbler, President and CEO, ZeaChem, Inc.
—Rod Gravley, Technology Director, Tri-Mer Corp.
—Sam Kang, Chief Financial and Operational Officer, Georgia Biomass
—John Keppler, Chairman & CEO, Enviva LP
—Tom Kimmerer, Senior Scientist, Moore Ventures
—Dirk Koltze, Executive Vice President, Siempelkamp L.P.
—Johnny Leggett, Project Manager, Hunt Guillot & Associates
—Günter Natus, Sales Director North America, Dieffenbacher
—Warren Nevad, Municipal Management Consultant, University of Tennessee Municipal Technical Advisory Service; co-founder, Tennessee Renewable Energy & Economic Development Council (TREEDC)
—Charles Niebling, General Manager, New England Wood Pellet
—James Perdue, Senior Biological Scientist, Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service
—Anne Rahikainen, Director of Bioenergy Services, RISI
—Timothy Rials, Ph.D. Professor and Director, Center for Renewable Carbon, University of Tennessee
—Dave Sargent, Managing Director, Global Energy Solutions
—Bijan Shams, President and CEO, Cogent Industrial Technologies
—Paul Sims, Global Market Manager – Environmental, Koch Knight LLC
—Gregory Smith, President, Global Energy Solutions
—Philip Steele, Professor and Thrust Leader, Sustainable Energy Research Center, Dept. of Forest Products, College of Forest Resources, Mississippi State University
—Dr. William Strauss, President, FutureMetrics
—Jon Strimling, President, CEO and Co-Founder, WoodPellets.com
—Jill Stuckey, Director, Georgia Center of Innovation for Energy
—Robert Synk, Manager of Projects, The Parton Group
—Danny Vines, President, Aspen Fuels
—Steven Walker, President and CEO, New England Wood Pellet
—Jeff Wilson, Biomass R&D Manager, Southern Company
—Jeff Wright, Manager, Sales and Product Development, ArborGen Inc.
—Timothy Young, Ph.D., Professor, Center for Renewable Carbon, University of Tennessee
—Peter Vyncke, Chief Executive Officer, Vyncke Energietechniek

The Bioenergy Conference is immediately followed by the Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo on March 1-2, also in the Grand Ballroom North.