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    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.


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Monday, June 12, 2006

Good news for vehicle owners in Kenya - biofuels are on their way



We reported earlier on the young German entrepreneur who took our advice to heart ("go to Africa and produce biodiesel from avocado residues"), and ventured into Kenya to start the nation's first bidiesel plant.
But there's more good news on the way. Kenyan motorists could soon be powering their gasoline vehicles too on biofuel, if an ongoing campaign to re-introduce ethanol in the national supply chain succeeds.

Experts and MPs are promoting an ambitious plan to produce ethanol fuel, which they say is cheaper and will help sugar cane farmers. A group of private sector experts and members of Parliament are pressuring the Government to introduce new policies on the production and use of ethanol as an alternative to fossil fuels such as petrol and diesel.

The experts, from the sugar industry and energy, who met in Nairobi last week, named Baringo Central MP and chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Energy and Public Works, Mr Gideon Moi, chair of a committee formed to spearhead the ethanol policy framework.


Mr Moi will be assisted by the Sugar Campaign for Change chairman Peter Kegode, who hosted the stakeholders' meeting at the Panafric Hotel.

Top officials

Also in the committee are top officials from two leading power alcohol producers – Spectre International and Agro-Chemicals and Food Company – the Government and local universities.

In a statement, Mr Kegode said the committee will develop a policy framework that will guide the reintroduction of blending of 10 per cent ethanol and 10 per cent bio-fuel in the national fuel supply chain by December.

They want sugar companies to set up ethanol production units to enable cane farmers maximise profits from their crop.

Mr Kegode said diversifying into ethanol production was the best way to save the sugar industry from succumbing to stiff competition when the Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) rules finally come into force in 2008.

Nominated MP Ruth Oniang'o and Agro-Chemicals chief executive O. P. Narang' said many countries had successfully introduced ethanol production as a bio-fuel.

Prof Oniang'o said she would lobby her colleagues in Parliament to support the ethanol campaign, saying it was good for the country.

"Countries like Brazil, India and Australia have drastically reduced the over-dependence on fossil-based fuels by introducing the bio-fuels. We can also do it in Kenya," she said.

Use of ethanol to power cars would enable farmers to earn more from their sugar cane, she said.

Prof Oniang'o urged the Government to support the ethanol production project, saying it would help cut the ever-rising cost of petrol and diesel.

The meeting brought together all key players in the bio-fuel supply chain, including petroleum and development companies, sugar industry players, industrial researchers, MPs, and ethanol processors among others.

Mr Kegode told the Nation that the meeting resolved that bio-fuels and bio-diesel groups be formed to work on supply chain issues through four major thematic areas, namely standards and quality assurance, research, fiscal and marketing and distribution.

Ethanol is a colourless flammable oxygenated hydrocarbon. It can be used as a percentage blend with or as a total substitute for petrols and diesel as a fuel ethanol, according to experts.

"Ethanol can be made by anyone with a minimum of equipment. It is a good fuel and can give extra power to certain engines, is a non-pollutant and cheaper," said Mr Kegode.

But other experts, especially from the energy sector, are calling for caution on the campaign.

Kenya Shell petroleum company chief executive Patrick Obath said re-introduction of bio-fuels into the Kenyan market could be tricky.

He said an attempt by the Government to introduce the use of power alcohol proved unsuccessful in 1983.

"There is a raft of issues to be addressed before bringing back the bio-fuels. It must be taken through a careful technical process. Last time it was introduced, cars stalled on the roads because the project was hurried," said Mr Obath.

He said the ethanol craze could be unsustainable if the global crude oil prices were to fall from the current $70 to $50 a barrel.

An official from the Ministry of Energy, Mr Peter Kagwaru, said there were plans to commission a study on the viability of bio-fuels in the country.

Daily Nation Kenya (registration req'd).

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