<body> -------------------
Contact Us       Consulting       Projects       Our Goals       About Us
home » Archive » Bioenergy_policies
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


Monday, September 11, 2006

Nigeria to make ethanol use mandatory, cooperation with Brazil

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that his administration would make the use of ethanol in fuel compulsory. Speaking when the Director of the Sao Paulo Federation of Industries, Mr Roberto Gianneti da Fonseca, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja, Obasanjo likened the situation to the compulsory use of cassava flour in wheat for bread.

“Like we did for the introduction of cassava flour into bread, we shall gradually introduce ethanol into fuel soon. This is a serious project for us. NNPC [Nigeria's national petroleum company] is spearheading the project for now; but it will essentially be private sector driven”, the president said.

He said that six states were ready to commence the project in their respective domains, including Jigawa, Bauchi, Benue and Ondo. “Nigeria has the capacity to produce ethanol from both cassava and sugarcane; so we will take advantage of these natural endowments to provide jobs and cheaper fuel,” he added.

Earlier, Fonseca had said his organisation was already talking with NNPC and some private Nigerian companies as part of the effort to introduce ethanol to the Nigerian market. Nigeria welcomes Brazilian technology, expertise and sugar cane varieties.

The announcement came after the NNPC and the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Abuja signed a consultancy service agreement in the area of research for high yielding cassava and sugarcane in the country, to take the national ethanol programme forward.

The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engineer Funso Kupolokun, also disclosed that a limited ethanol importation programme is being planned to seed the market. To him, this will not only help to form up the market, it will also provide the necessary experience in distribution and handling of infrastructure for the distribution of ethanol fuel in collaboration with petroleum marketers:
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

The objective of the ethanol fuel programme he said was to explore sources of biomass that can be used to produce fuel ethanol to improve automotive exhaust omissions in the country and reduce use of petrol, free up more crude for export and position Nigeria for development of green fuel.

On the research agreement with the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, he stressed that for the implementation of the programme to be successful, the services of experts from the university will be required from time to time.

He, however, believed that the consultancy agreement will enable the corporation to establish the framework and set out the principles with Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, which will provide technical assistance to NNPC on the Automobile Bio-Mass Ethanol programme.

According to him “the success of the bio-fuel programme is anchored on local availability of high quality feedstock in sufficient quantity from both out-growers and integrated plantations to feed the ethanol plants on a sustainable basis.”

Towards this, a detailed feasibility studies for locations in Gombe and Benue States and a preliminary seedling strategy has been developed to provide sufficient and improved varietal material for 20,000 hectares of sugarcane plantations in the two cities.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

<< Home