<body> -------------------
Contact Us       Consulting       Projects       Our Goals       About Us
home » Archive » Bioenergy_economics
Nature Blog Network


    Spanish company Ferry Group is to invest €42/US$55.2 million in a project for the production of biomass fuel pellets in Bulgaria. The 3-year project consists of establishing plantations of paulownia trees near the city of Tran. Paulownia is a fast-growing tree used for the commercial production of fuel pellets. Dnevnik - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Hungary's BHD Hõerõmû Zrt. is to build a 35 billion Forint (€138/US$182 million) commercial biomass-fired power plant with a maximum output of 49.9 MW in Szerencs (northeast Hungary). Portfolio.hu - Feb. 20, 2007.

    Tonight at 9pm, BBC Two will be showing a program on geo-engineering techniques to 'save' the planet from global warming. Five of the world's top scientists propose five radical scientific inventions which could stop climate change dead in its tracks. The ideas include: a giant sunshade in space to filter out the sun's rays and help cool us down; forests of artificial trees that would breath in carbon dioxide and stop the green house effect and a fleet futuristic yachts that will shoot salt water into the clouds thickening them and cooling the planet. BBC News - Feb. 19, 2007.

    Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. ethanol producer, is planning to open a biodiesel plant in Indonesia with Wilmar International Ltd. this year and a wholly owned biodiesel plant in Brazil before July, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The Brazil plant is expected to be the nation's largest, the paper said. Worldwide, the company projects a fourfold rise in biodiesel production over the next five years. ADM was not immediately available to comment. Reuters - Feb. 16, 2007.

    Finnish engineering firm Pöyry Oyj has been awarded contracts by San Carlos Bioenergy Inc. to provide services for the first bioethanol plant in the Philippines. The aggregate contract value is EUR 10 million. The plant is to be build in the Province of San Carlos on the north-eastern tip of Negros Island. The plant is expected to deliver 120,000 liters/day of bioethanol and 4 MW of excess power to the grid. Kauppalehti Online - Feb. 15, 2007.

    In order to reduce fuel costs, a Mukono-based flower farm which exports to Europe, is building its own biodiesel plant, based on using Jatropha curcas seeds. It estimates the fuel will cut production costs by up to 20%. New Vision (Kampala, Uganda) - Feb. 12, 2007.

    The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has decided to use 10% biodiesel in its fleet of public buses. The world's largest city is served by the Toei Bus System, which is used by some 570,000 people daily. Digital World Tokyo - Feb. 12, 2007.

    Fearing lack of electricity supply in South Africa and a price tag on CO2, WSP Group SA is investing in a biomass power plant that will replace coal in the Letaba Citrus juicing plant which is located in Tzaneen. Mining Weekly - Feb. 8, 2007.

    In what it calls an important addition to its global R&D capabilities, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is to build a new bioenergy research center in Hamburg, Germany. World Grain - Feb. 5, 2007.

    EthaBlog's Henrique Oliveira interviews leading Brazilian biofuels consultant Marcelo Coelho who offers insights into the (foreign) investment dynamics in the sector, the history of Brazilian ethanol and the relationship between oil price trends and biofuels. EthaBlog - Feb. 2, 2007.

    The government of Taiwan has announced its renewable energy target: 12% of all energy should come from renewables by 2020. The plan is expected to revitalise Taiwan's agricultural sector and to boost its nascent biomass industry. China Post - Feb. 2, 2007.

    Production at Cantarell, the world's second biggest oil field, declined by 500,000 barrels or 25% last year. This virtual collapse is unfolding much faster than projections from Mexico's state-run oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos. Wall Street Journal - Jan. 30, 2007.

    Dubai-based and AIM listed Teejori Ltd. has entered into an agreement to invest €6 million to acquire a 16.7% interest in Bekon, which developed two proprietary technologies enabling dry-fermentation of biomass. Both technologies allow it to design, establish and operate biogas plants in a highly efficient way. Dry-Fermentation offers significant advantages to the existing widely used wet fermentation process of converting biomass to biogas. Ame Info - Jan. 22, 2007.

    Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited is to build a biofuel production plant in the tribal belt of Banswara, Rajasthan, India. The petroleum company has acquired 20,000 hectares of low value land in the district, which it plans to commit to growing jatropha and other biofuel crops. The company's chairman said HPCL was also looking for similar wasteland in the state of Chhattisgarh. Zee News - Jan. 15, 2007.

    The Zimbabwean national police begins planting jatropha for a pilot project that must result in a daily production of 1000 liters of biodiesel. The Herald (Harare), Via AllAfrica - Jan. 12, 2007.

    In order to meet its Kyoto obligations and to cut dependence on oil, Japan has started importing biofuels from Brazil and elsewhere. And even though the country has limited local bioenergy potential, its Agriculture Ministry will begin a search for natural resources, including farm products and their residues, that can be used to make biofuels in Japan. To this end, studies will be conducted at 900 locations nationwide over a three-year period. The Japan Times - Jan. 12, 2007.

    Chrysler's chief economist Van Jolissaint has launched an arrogant attack on "quasi-hysterical Europeans" and their attitudes to global warming, calling the Stern Review 'dubious'. The remarks illustrate the yawning gap between opinions on climate change among Europeans and Americans, but they also strengthen the view that announcements by US car makers and legislators about the development of green vehicles are nothing more than window dressing. Today, the EU announced its comprehensive energy policy for the 21st century, with climate change at the center of it. BBC News - Jan. 10, 2007.

    The new Canadian government is investing $840,000 into BioMatera Inc. a biotech company that develops industrial biopolymers (such as PHA) that have wide-scale applications in the plastics, farmaceutical and cosmetics industries. Plant-based biopolymers such as PHA are biodegradable and renewable. Government of Canada - Jan. 9, 2007.


Creative Commons License


Sunday, December 24, 2006

European firm to invest €46 million in Brazil's biodiesel industry under "social fuel" policy

The Brazilian government's biofuels policies contain interesting provisions which say that if producers source their feedstocks from small farmers, they get tax exemptions. It seems like most large investors find the propositions so appealing that they opt for this "social fuel" seal.

The system is aimed at strengthening the social sustainability of agricultural production - a top priority for the Brazilian government. According to Brazilian officials, large-scale biofuel production can act as a lever to reduce rural poverty, provided small farmers are made an integral part of the rapidly evolving industry (earlier post). By investing in energy crops, for which they obtain secure supply contracts, Brazil's countless smallholders can raise their incomes and diversify their crop portfolio, thus reducing the risks they otherwise often face when relying on a single crop. The social sustainability policy is seen as a strategy not only to fight rural poverty but to slow down mass migration from the country-side to the mega-cities (mega-slums), which is a consequence of it.

Brazil's socially framed ethanol expansion program is expected to bring up to 3.6 million jobs by 2010 (earlier post), whereas its new biodiesel program might equal that amount (President Lula's take on the program).

One amongst the many companies stepping into the "social fuel" system, is the Malta-based Agrenco Group who will be investing 130 million Brazilian reals (€46/US$60.4 million) in an oilseed complex in the state of Mato Grosso, one of Brazil's poorest regions.

In a statement issued by Finacom, the financial arm of the group, it was revealed that the complex includes a crushing and biodiesel plant and a biomass power plant. The complex is part of Agrenco’s larger plan to invest a total of €84 million (US$110 million) in three biodiesel and crushing plants in Brazil. The company intends to build other hubs in Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul states. Altogether, they will produce 380,000 tons of biodiesel:
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

The announcement was made in the capital of Mato Grosso, Cuiabá city, by Agrenco Group CEO Antonio Iafelice at a meeting with Mato Grosso state governor Blairo Maggi. Francisco Ramos, shareholder of the Agrenco Group, and José Marcos Lorenzetti, director of Agrenco Bioenergia, also took part in the meeting.

The biodiesel plants will apply for the “social fuel” seal granted by the federal government, and therefore be eligible for tax-exemption, as the oilseed will be supplied by small-scale farmers. The plants use a multi-seed technology, meaning they can crush and produce biodiesel from oilseed such as soybeans, jatropha, castor, and sunflower.

Part of Agrenco’s biodiesel production will be used for its own fleet of 3,000 trucks and lorries. Another portion will be delivered to farmers and the remainder will be available to the external market.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home