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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, October 30, 2006

First-ever conference explores Africa's biofuels potential

High energy prices affect the least developed countries most. Their economies are oil-intensive and they often lack financial and policy instruments with which to ease the burden. This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty and fuel scarcity already affect industries and communities alike. But precisely this continent could do what no other can: to choose for an entirely new energy paradigm, based on locally produced biofuels and bioenergy. Africa has the agro-climatic potential, and latecomer advantages over more developed regions, because the continent's fossil fuel infrastructure is not entirely developed. Whereas highly industrialised countries are stuck in the petroleum era, Africa could 'leapfrog' beyond it and into a green future. Moreover, by doing so, the continent could combine several crucial development goals: achieving energy security, reducing poverty and intensifying rural development.

But it will not be easy to turn such a vision into a reality. The creation of a viable biofuels industry is extremely complex and requires concerted efforts from a wide range of institutions and actors - from governments and entrepreneurs to civil society and international organisations. In order to shed a light on this potential and its complexities, Greenpowerconferences is now launching the first-ever event dedicated to exploring the future of this emerging sector in Africa. Its Biofuels Markets Africa conference will be held from November 30 to December 1 in Cape Town, South Africa.

The event's agenda [*.pdf] covers the future of the sector from a broad range of perspectives. Expert speakers from major organisations and companies will address issues like the technical and economic potential of biofuels in different regions of the continent, the need for institutional development and dedicated policies, the creation of trade rules and tax regimes, or the debate on 'food versus fuel'. Possible synergies between fossil fuel and biofuels producers will be discussed, as will the role of governments and non-governmental organisations in the sector. Crucially, the investment, management and financing strategies needed unlock Africa's biofuels potential will take center stage at the conference.

The tension between environmental sustainability and economic viability is a key issue for the successful development of a biofuels sector. This is why Biofuels Markets Africa has also invited speakers from Brazil to highlight this country's long experience with green fuels. Brazil has successfully overcome these tensions, and now acts as a guiding light for other developing nations. As South-South and North-South exchanges in the sector intensify, both India's perspective on bioenergy as well as lessons to be learned from Europe's highly developed biofuels market complete the event.

Interestingly, the conference also focuses on a number of case-studies from Africa itself. Both large-scale producers of biofuels already active on the continent share their vision on doing business in Africa, while presentations of small-scale bioenergy projects allow us to learn more about the local effects of green energy on rural communities. Finally, the Clean Development Mechanism and its potential role in the biofuels industry is explored by experts who have implemented CDM-projects in Africa.

The African continent has long remained a black spot on the global map of biofuels initiatives. Its potential is well-known, but a multitude of challenges remains. By bringing together key experts and industry leaders, the Biofuels Markets Africa conference will give us a first hint at how to address these challenges and at what Africa's green future might look like. Once this major event kicks off, we will be reporting back on it on a regular basis [entry ends here].
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