An overview of biofuels in the Pacific
Small island states are very dependent on imported petroleum. Most of these remote nations have energy intensive economies (often single sector economies, based on tourism), produce no oil themselves, have limited economic means with which to hedge against oil price fluctuations, which results in over-dependence and a state of permanent energy insecurity. Moreover, as we reported earlier, small island states are the first to experience the real impacts of climate change (in particular sea level changes). This is why, for example, Tuvalu, is pleading radically for a switch to carbon-neutral energy, itself setting the example by using all possible renewables, including bioenergy (earlier post).
For these island states, more perhaps than for other countries, locally produced biofuels offer an interesting alternative to costly and climate-destructive fossil fuels. No surprise then that some islands, like those in the Indian Ocean, are already cooperating in the sector (earlier post). In the Pacific too, the switch to biofuels is gathering pace.
The region as a whole has considerable potential to produce bioenergy -- between 20 and 174EJ per year by 2050 depending on the scenario --, with Papua New Guinea and Australia being the regional bioenergy powers, who could export their fuels to more remote islands (on this potential, see the studies carried out by the IEA's Bioenergy Task 40 study group). Earlier we referred to the main feedstock of interest in the region, the abundant and humble coconut, whose oil can be used as an excellent source for the production of first generation biodiesel and whose shells and fibres make for a biomass feedstock suitable for power generation.
Key experiences with the feedstock in Vanuatu, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji now indicate there is indeed a special case for the economic viability of biofuel in the Pacific, even though staying competitive in the world biofuel market will not be easy. An overview:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: energy security :: island states :: Vanuatu :: Samoa :: Papua New Guinea :: Solomon Islands :: Fiji :: Pacific ::
Over the last 20 years, the price of coconut oil on the world market has consistently decreased, and after a period of relatively low diesel prices, the last five years have seen diesel prices progressively increase. Only recently, imported diesel in the Pacific has become more expensive than the net value of exported coconut oil, suddenly making coconut oil a serious commodity option for internal use as biofuel.
At the global level, ambitious targets set by countries to achieve a significant reduction in fossil fuel usage has caused an increase in world market prices for vegetable oil and sugar, as well as a tempering effect on crude oil prices. At the same time, environmental concerns that are driving the biofuel industry in the European Union are causing environmental problems through wide scale deforestation of palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia.
In the Pacific, the call for the use of locally produced biofuels has been based mainly on the desire to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels. However, research conducted by the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) about the impact of biofuel on government finances, found that as coconut oil and sugar are important export products, using them to replace imports will also cause a decrease in total export revenue. In addition, if duties and excises are waived so as to promote the use of biofuels, the total impact on government finances might be negative.
Fiji
In Fiji, the relatively small size of the sugar industry makes it difficult for Fiji to be competitive with ethanol on the world market.
However, the cost levels appear to be close to serving Fiji’s domestic market with a petrol substitute. The World Bank will investigate this further in 2007 in partnership with the Fiji Sugar Corporation. Although costs to produce biodiesel based on coconut oil are still quite high, another cheaper option is the use of waste vegetable oil as raw material, which can make it competitive with regular diesel.
Marshall Islands
In other Pacific countries, Tobolar copra mill in the Marshall Islands is retailing a 50/50 filtered coconut oil and diesel blend below the price of regular diesel.
Recently, a SOPAC inspection into a local car run for three years on various coconut oil blends, found no long-term engine deterioration and one can now even smell coconut fumes along the main road in Majuro.
Vanuatu
In Vanuatu, there are two retailers refining coconut oil to either a mix with 20 percent kerosene or with 50 percent diesel. Despite the reduced prices supported by government, the uptake is still limited, but nonetheless growing.
The island's power utility UNELCO, has embarked on ‘industrialising’ the production of fuel-grade coconut oil and using it in its generators in a blend of 10 percent that is supporting the local industry and decreasing emissions.
Solomons
In September, a similar blend was launched by Solomon Tropical Products in Honiara at the 2006 National Trade Show after testing their product in local vehicles.
Samoa
In Samoa, SOPAC has assisted with the use of coconut oil as a fuel in power generation, with EPC, the power utility in Samoa.
Papua New Guinea
In PNG, many local suppliers of fuel have started to blend filtered coconut oil with diesel, including Unitech in Lae, which has been successfully trialling biofuel blends in engines as part of their mechanical engineering research.
Another supplier, PNG SD, is using mining proceeds to attempt to make power generation in remote communities commercially viable.
The potential
In the Pacific, assuming significant government support for major replanting and industry restructuring, SOPAC estimates the current regional potential in 2010 for biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) is about 30 percent of all transport fuels.
As there is no country in the world that has a biofuel industry without the backing of government policies and incentives, there is a very important role for national legislators in the region to ensure the adoption of standards and provide tangible support.
The Pacific biofuel advantage is in no small part due to our natural resources. A colonial heritage of dedicated coconut tree plantations gives the islands the edge to make biofuel a real economic and environmental alternative.
Although it will not be possible to replace all fossil fuels in the near future, biofuels provide part of the solution and should therefore be pursued vigorously by governments in partnership with the private sector. Biofuels will then decrease the island states' dependency on fossil fuels and build greater confidence in their own Pacific assets.
Article continues
For these island states, more perhaps than for other countries, locally produced biofuels offer an interesting alternative to costly and climate-destructive fossil fuels. No surprise then that some islands, like those in the Indian Ocean, are already cooperating in the sector (earlier post). In the Pacific too, the switch to biofuels is gathering pace.
The region as a whole has considerable potential to produce bioenergy -- between 20 and 174EJ per year by 2050 depending on the scenario --, with Papua New Guinea and Australia being the regional bioenergy powers, who could export their fuels to more remote islands (on this potential, see the studies carried out by the IEA's Bioenergy Task 40 study group). Earlier we referred to the main feedstock of interest in the region, the abundant and humble coconut, whose oil can be used as an excellent source for the production of first generation biodiesel and whose shells and fibres make for a biomass feedstock suitable for power generation.
Key experiences with the feedstock in Vanuatu, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji now indicate there is indeed a special case for the economic viability of biofuel in the Pacific, even though staying competitive in the world biofuel market will not be easy. An overview:
ethanol :: biodiesel :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: energy security :: island states :: Vanuatu :: Samoa :: Papua New Guinea :: Solomon Islands :: Fiji :: Pacific ::
Over the last 20 years, the price of coconut oil on the world market has consistently decreased, and after a period of relatively low diesel prices, the last five years have seen diesel prices progressively increase. Only recently, imported diesel in the Pacific has become more expensive than the net value of exported coconut oil, suddenly making coconut oil a serious commodity option for internal use as biofuel.
At the global level, ambitious targets set by countries to achieve a significant reduction in fossil fuel usage has caused an increase in world market prices for vegetable oil and sugar, as well as a tempering effect on crude oil prices. At the same time, environmental concerns that are driving the biofuel industry in the European Union are causing environmental problems through wide scale deforestation of palm plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia.
In the Pacific, the call for the use of locally produced biofuels has been based mainly on the desire to reduce dependency on imported fossil fuels. However, research conducted by the Pacific Islands Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC) about the impact of biofuel on government finances, found that as coconut oil and sugar are important export products, using them to replace imports will also cause a decrease in total export revenue. In addition, if duties and excises are waived so as to promote the use of biofuels, the total impact on government finances might be negative.
Fiji
In Fiji, the relatively small size of the sugar industry makes it difficult for Fiji to be competitive with ethanol on the world market.
However, the cost levels appear to be close to serving Fiji’s domestic market with a petrol substitute. The World Bank will investigate this further in 2007 in partnership with the Fiji Sugar Corporation. Although costs to produce biodiesel based on coconut oil are still quite high, another cheaper option is the use of waste vegetable oil as raw material, which can make it competitive with regular diesel.
Marshall Islands
In other Pacific countries, Tobolar copra mill in the Marshall Islands is retailing a 50/50 filtered coconut oil and diesel blend below the price of regular diesel.
Recently, a SOPAC inspection into a local car run for three years on various coconut oil blends, found no long-term engine deterioration and one can now even smell coconut fumes along the main road in Majuro.
Vanuatu
In Vanuatu, there are two retailers refining coconut oil to either a mix with 20 percent kerosene or with 50 percent diesel. Despite the reduced prices supported by government, the uptake is still limited, but nonetheless growing.
The island's power utility UNELCO, has embarked on ‘industrialising’ the production of fuel-grade coconut oil and using it in its generators in a blend of 10 percent that is supporting the local industry and decreasing emissions.
Solomons
In September, a similar blend was launched by Solomon Tropical Products in Honiara at the 2006 National Trade Show after testing their product in local vehicles.
Samoa
In Samoa, SOPAC has assisted with the use of coconut oil as a fuel in power generation, with EPC, the power utility in Samoa.
Papua New Guinea
In PNG, many local suppliers of fuel have started to blend filtered coconut oil with diesel, including Unitech in Lae, which has been successfully trialling biofuel blends in engines as part of their mechanical engineering research.
Another supplier, PNG SD, is using mining proceeds to attempt to make power generation in remote communities commercially viable.
The potential
In the Pacific, assuming significant government support for major replanting and industry restructuring, SOPAC estimates the current regional potential in 2010 for biofuels (ethanol and biodiesel) is about 30 percent of all transport fuels.
As there is no country in the world that has a biofuel industry without the backing of government policies and incentives, there is a very important role for national legislators in the region to ensure the adoption of standards and provide tangible support.
The Pacific biofuel advantage is in no small part due to our natural resources. A colonial heritage of dedicated coconut tree plantations gives the islands the edge to make biofuel a real economic and environmental alternative.
Although it will not be possible to replace all fossil fuels in the near future, biofuels provide part of the solution and should therefore be pursued vigorously by governments in partnership with the private sector. Biofuels will then decrease the island states' dependency on fossil fuels and build greater confidence in their own Pacific assets.
Article continues
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
FAO: Livestock a major environmental and climate threat; implications for bioenergy
Henning Steinfeld, Chief of FAO’s Livestock Information and Policy Branch and senior author of the report entitled Livestock's long shadow - Environmental issues and options [*.pdf] [or individual chapters]: “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”
With increased prosperity, people are consuming more meat and dairy products every year. Global meat production is projected to more than double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 million tonnes in 2050, while milk output is set to climb from 580 to 1043 million tonnes.
Livestock's importance in developing countries
The global livestock sector is growing faster than any other agricultural sub-sector. It provides livelihoods to about 1.3 billion people and contributes about 40 percent to global agricultural output. For many poor farmers in developing countries livestock are also a source of renewable energy for draft and an essential source of organic fertilizer for their crops:
biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: climate change :: livestock :: cattle :: CO2 :: methane :: biogas :: developing world :: FAO ::
But such rapid growth exacts a steep environmental price, according to the FAO report. “The environmental costs per unit of livestock production must be cut by one half, just to avoid the level of damage worsening beyond its present level,” it warns. When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure.
And it accounts for respectively 37 percent of all human-induced methane (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants, and 64 percent of ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain.
Livestock now use 30 percent of the earth’s entire land surface, mostly permanent pasture but also including 33 percent of the global arable land used to producing feed for livestock, the report notes. As forests are cleared to create new pastures, it is a major driver of deforestation, especially in Latin America where, for example, some 70 percent of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing.
Land and water
At the same time herds cause wide-scale land degradation, with about 20 percent of pastures considered as degraded through overgrazing, compaction and erosion. This figure is even higher in the drylands where inappropriate policies and inadequate livestock management contribute to advancing desertification.
The livestock business is among the most damaging sectors to the earth’s increasingly scarce water resources, contributing among other things to water pollution, euthropication and the degeneration of coral reefs. The major polluting agents are animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and the pesticides used to spray feed crops. Widespread overgrazing disturbs water cycles, reducing replenishment of above and below ground water resources. Significant amounts of water are withdrawn for the production of feed.
Livestock are estimated to be the main inland source of phosphorous and nitrogen contamination of the South China Sea, contributing to biodiversity loss in marine ecosystems.
Meat and dairy animals now account for about 20 percent of all terrestrial animal biomass. Livestock’s presence in vast tracts of land and its demand for feed crops also contribute to biodiversity loss; 15 out of 24 important ecosystem services are assessed as in decline, with livestock identified as a culprit.
Remedies
The report, which was produced with the support of the multi-institutional Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative, proposes explicitly to consider these environmental costs and suggests a number of ways of remedying the situation, including:
Land degradation:
controlling access and removing obstacles to mobility on common pastures. Use of soil conservation methods and silvopastoralism, together with controlled livestock exclusion from sensitive areas; payment schemes for environmental services in livestock-based land use to help reduce and reverse land degradation.
Atmosphere and climate:
increasing the efficiency of livestock production and feed crop agriculture. Improving animals’ diets to reduce enteric fermentation and consequent methane emissions, and setting up biogas plant initiatives to recycle manure.
Water:
improving the efficiency of irrigation systems. Introducing full-cost pricing for water together with taxes to discourage large-scale livestock concentration close to cities.
These and related questions are the focus of discussions between FAO and its partners meeting to chart the way forward for livestock production at global consultations in Bangkok this week. These discussions also include the substantial public health risks related to the rapid livestock sector growth as, increasingly, animal diseases also affect humans; rapid livestock sector growth can also lead to the exclusion of smallholders from growing markets.
Implications for biofuels
In Chapter 3 - Livestock’s role in climate change and air pollution [*.pdf], the report looks at the importance of creating biogas facilities to recycle manure for energy, to reduce CO2 and methane emissions from cattle. Major gains are to be made in humid tropical climates, where manure releases much more methane than in cooler climates.
The section 'Mitigating CH4 emissions through improved manure management and biogas' reads as follows:
The report then lists a range of other benefits of using biogas, such as odor and pathogen control.
Using the latest technologies and co-fermentation of dedicated energy crops, biogas is already becoming competitive with natural gas, and the livestock industry offers a large untapped potential. Advances in technology have now made it possible to purify biogas to natural gas standards. Large livestock producers may integrate their production with biogas facilities, using manure as a substrate in combination with dedicated energy crops, and feed biogas into the natural gas grid. The green gas can even be used as a transport fuel, and several countries (especially in Northern and Central Europe) are already using it in their fleets.
Even though the study does not make explicit reference to it, another important remedy will contribute to changes in the global potential for the production of biofuels. In their study on the global potential of biofuels, the IEA Bioenergy Task 40 group, used a model in which livestock production efficiencies play an important role. The study uses four scenarios that determine the final bioenergy potential in different regions by the year 2050:
Increased efficiency in livestock production opens up a vast additional potential for the production of biofuels. Instead of allowing cattle to graze on pastures - often an unsustainable practise and leading to increased GHG emissions - concentrating the animals in more efficiently managed facilities, frees more land for biofuels. Moreover, this allows a more efficient production of fodder crops, once more reducing land dedicated to livestock production, and adding to the land available for biofuel production.
More information:
Edward M.W. Smeets, André P.C. Faaij, Iris M. Lewandowski and Wim C. Turkenburg (2006) A bottom-up assessment and review of global bio-energy potentials to 2050. Progress in Energy and Combustion Science (In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 29 September 2006).
H. Steinfeld, P. Gerber, T. Wassenaar, V. Castel, M. Rosales, C. de Haan, Livestock's long shadow - Environmental issues and options [*.pdf, or separate chapters], LEAD, 2006.
FAO, Agriculture 21 magazine: Livestock impacts on the environment - November 2006.
Article continues
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