Coconut power in the Pacific
The humble coconut, a staple of the eco- nomy in the small island nations of the South Pacific, is being viewed potentially as part of the region's solution to rising oil prices. Oil extracted from the coconut is already being used in power generation in parts of the Pacific.
But the investment needed to set up the large-scale plantations that would underpin a viable biodiesel industry will not be forthcoming without land ownership certainty, according to a new report by one of the region's leading banks. Diesel fuel is the primary energy source in the Pacific, so the sharp rise in oil prices since 2005 has had a considerable impact on the often fragile economies of the smaller states. That has prompted an increased interest in alternative energy sources, including biofuels that can be blended with diesel and other petroleum products.
Globally, much of the biofuel focus has been on the world's big producers such as Brazil, where ethanol from sugar cane plantations is widely used and 70 percent of new cars produced there can run on both ethanol and normal gasoline. But in the much smaller biofuel market of the South Pacific, coconut oil and biodiesel, rather than ethanol, is the focus. Coconut oil is extracted from copra, the dried flesh of the coconut.
While the market is small, coconut oil offers significant savings. A recent report by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) -- which has been financing several cocodiesel projects -- found that if half of the Pacific's diesel imports were to be replaced by coconut oil, the region's average import bill would drop by 10 percent. And as we reported earlier, over the long-term, the Pacific region as a whole has a large per capita biofuel production potential.
According to the Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) (comment on its biofuels market report), copra is by far the most significant crop in the Pacific islands with the potential for use in biofuels:
biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: coconut :: copra :: Pacific ::
Already, the oil is being used or tested by power suppliers in Vanutau, New Caledonia, Samoa and Fiji. For example, the main power supplier in Vanuatu, the French concession company Unelco, estimates that by 2010, 30 percent of its primary fuel consumption for power generators there will be based on coconut oil.
To produce that oil will require 12,000 tonnes of copra, according to recent research by the Vanuatu Commodities Marketing Board.
Parts of Vanuatu's power generation chain currently use 10 percent coconut oil, blended with diesel.
On New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands, Unelco has installed special generators that are 100 percent fueled by coconut oil.
Samoa's Electric Power Corp. is testing a blend that includes 20 percent coconut oil and the Fiji Electricity Authority also plans to use vegetable oil in its generators, according to ANZ's latest report on natural resources prospects in the Pacific.
For decades, Pacific nations have produced copra for domestic consumption and export. Vanuatu, for example, exports copra to Germany for processing into coconut oil. The region's biggest copra producer is Papua New Guinea, followed by Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. Samoa also has extensive coconut plantations.
But in most of the Pacific nations, production and processing has been at the subsistence level, ANZ says. Only a few have commercial processing capacity.
Production and processing has moved in line with global prices, which ANZ says fell to as low as $198 a tonne in 2001 before recovering to the current level of about $350 a tonne.
The Solomons and PNG also have palm oil plantations -- another agricultural commodity with rising prospects. Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil producer, expects palm oil prices to rise 10 percent by early next year in line with increased demand for biofuels.
The ANZ Bank says that while the development of a Pacific biofuels industry sounds attractive in theory, there are serious impediments, including the major one of land tenure uncertainty. In much of the Pacific, land is communally owned by traditional owners.
The bank says that resolving land-based issues would be "instrumental" in getting investment for a biofuels industry.
But the investment needed to set up the large-scale plantations that would underpin a viable biodiesel industry will not be forthcoming without land ownership certainty, according to a new report by one of the region's leading banks. Diesel fuel is the primary energy source in the Pacific, so the sharp rise in oil prices since 2005 has had a considerable impact on the often fragile economies of the smaller states. That has prompted an increased interest in alternative energy sources, including biofuels that can be blended with diesel and other petroleum products.
Globally, much of the biofuel focus has been on the world's big producers such as Brazil, where ethanol from sugar cane plantations is widely used and 70 percent of new cars produced there can run on both ethanol and normal gasoline. But in the much smaller biofuel market of the South Pacific, coconut oil and biodiesel, rather than ethanol, is the focus. Coconut oil is extracted from copra, the dried flesh of the coconut.
While the market is small, coconut oil offers significant savings. A recent report by the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) -- which has been financing several cocodiesel projects -- found that if half of the Pacific's diesel imports were to be replaced by coconut oil, the region's average import bill would drop by 10 percent. And as we reported earlier, over the long-term, the Pacific region as a whole has a large per capita biofuel production potential.
According to the Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) (comment on its biofuels market report), copra is by far the most significant crop in the Pacific islands with the potential for use in biofuels:
biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: coconut :: copra :: Pacific ::
Already, the oil is being used or tested by power suppliers in Vanutau, New Caledonia, Samoa and Fiji. For example, the main power supplier in Vanuatu, the French concession company Unelco, estimates that by 2010, 30 percent of its primary fuel consumption for power generators there will be based on coconut oil.
To produce that oil will require 12,000 tonnes of copra, according to recent research by the Vanuatu Commodities Marketing Board.
Parts of Vanuatu's power generation chain currently use 10 percent coconut oil, blended with diesel.
On New Caledonia's Loyalty Islands, Unelco has installed special generators that are 100 percent fueled by coconut oil.
Samoa's Electric Power Corp. is testing a blend that includes 20 percent coconut oil and the Fiji Electricity Authority also plans to use vegetable oil in its generators, according to ANZ's latest report on natural resources prospects in the Pacific.
For decades, Pacific nations have produced copra for domestic consumption and export. Vanuatu, for example, exports copra to Germany for processing into coconut oil. The region's biggest copra producer is Papua New Guinea, followed by Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Fiji. Samoa also has extensive coconut plantations.
But in most of the Pacific nations, production and processing has been at the subsistence level, ANZ says. Only a few have commercial processing capacity.
Production and processing has moved in line with global prices, which ANZ says fell to as low as $198 a tonne in 2001 before recovering to the current level of about $350 a tonne.
The Solomons and PNG also have palm oil plantations -- another agricultural commodity with rising prospects. Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil producer, expects palm oil prices to rise 10 percent by early next year in line with increased demand for biofuels.
The ANZ Bank says that while the development of a Pacific biofuels industry sounds attractive in theory, there are serious impediments, including the major one of land tenure uncertainty. In much of the Pacific, land is communally owned by traditional owners.
The bank says that resolving land-based issues would be "instrumental" in getting investment for a biofuels industry.
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