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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, January 08, 2007

Nigeria's renewables industry to generate 500,000 jobs

One of the strongest arguments in favor of developing biofuels and renewables in the Global South is the potential to generate much needed jobs and spill-over effects into other sectors. Earlier we pointed to government estimates on how much employment Brazil's new ethanol plans will bring (3.6 million by 2010 - earlier post), and we looked at Indonesia's large bioenergy investments from this perspective as well (2.5 million jobs by 2010 - earlier post). Bioenergy has the potential to bring social and economic development to rural areas in the South.

Energy experts and stakeholders from West-Africa yesterday assessed Nigeria's Renewable Energy Master-plan (REMP) and came to the same conclusion. A draft of this plan was submitted to government in 2005, but has been reworked since. At the audit, National Coordinator of the Council of Renewable Energy in Nigeria, Odigha Odiagha, predicted that exploitation of the country's renewable energy potential could create avenues for mass employment.

The main points of the draft REMP can be summarized as follows:
  • power generation target: 2,945MW of wind, solar PV, solar thermal, small hydro and biomass to be installed by 2025, roughly an equivalent to the entire capacity used in Nigeria today.
  • accent on decentralisation: renewable energy technologies do not have to be connected to a large grid, thus can be cost-effective choices for expedient rural electrification.
  • estimate of jobs to be generated under the plan: 500,000 jobs in the next 10 years.
  • new models and policies to enhance cooperation of government, private sector and civil society organisations.
  • development of a frameworked for power sales from small-scale renewable energy producers to the national grid.
The development of a liquid biofuels program has been treated separately and falls under agro-industrial plans (such as the Presidential Cassava Plan). It involves investments in large-scale sugarcane and oil palm plantations, as well as in cassava. This plan is estimated to bring 3 million jobs to the rural poor (earlier post).

The Renewable Energy Master-plan entails an ambitious but achievable commitment to the development of all major renewable energy resources, and includes short, medium and long term targets, planned activities and milestones and strategies for implementation of this comprehensive renewable energy development strategy. The development of the sector in Nigeria as a major strategy that would not only conserve the nation's oil reserves, but would also develop the economy and alleviate poverty:
"Developing, manufacturing, building, installing, and maintaining renewable energy technologies has the potential to create many new Nigerian-lead jobs and powerful modern industries. This will serve to empower entrepreneurs and companies to help build a vibrant and diverse economy. It is also a wise economic choice for the long term. As fossil fuels deplete, Nigeria will have diverse, dependable energy sources and be able to strategically benefit from our oil resources". -- Odigha Odiagha, National Coordinator of the Council of Renewable Energy, Nigeria
Odigha said renewable energy is part of the solution to conserving far more resources than just oil. 50% of Nigeria's current energy consumption comes from primitively used wood fuel and charcoal. Its replacement by modern bioenergy and other renewables will ease the burden on the health and time of Nigeria's women and children, conserve forests and contribute to cleaner and better environment for Nigerians to live in:
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::


Renewable energy technologies utilise energy from small-scale hydro, wind, solar, geo-thermal, biomass, biogas, and biofuels which Nigeria has in abundance. The energy development expert said apart from the potential to generate about 500,000 jobs in the next 10 years, exploiting energy from renewable sources like solar, wind and hydro-dams can contribute to a stronger economy, and in addressing the estimated $1billion a year, which Nigerian businesses lose due to an unstable power supply.

According to the coordinator, a developed renewable energy sector would also engender a healthier, cleaner nation, which would be powered by energy from inexhaustible sources.

Not only do they provide clean, stable means of energy generation, the large scale implementation of renewable energy makes economic sense for Nigeria both in the short term and the long term, he said.

Regional integration
Being central to the economic development of West Africa region, EOWAS Director for Infrastructure and Industry, David Kamara, had asked Africa's most populous country to broaden the master plan to incorporate the sub-region.

He asked countries in the region to shift from "stand-alone" technology initiatives which slowed development and progress.

"If the Nigeria Renewable Master Plan is to enlarge and accommodate other countries within the region it will become more attractive and of advantage for ECOWAS," Kamara said.

The production of renewable energy will undoubtedly alleviate the problems of waste management African countries are faced with.


More information:

This Day (Lagos): Nigeria: 500,000 Jobs Expected From Renewable Energy, Jan. 8, 2006
Afrol News:Gambia to produce renewable energy, Jan. 5, 2006

posted by Biopact team at 4:36 PM  

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