The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) today announced the appointment of David Thomas as Chief Lobbyist and Leticia Phillips as Representative for North America, both based at UNICA’s Washington, D.C. office. They replace Joel Velasco, who left UNICA in January to become Senior Vice-President for External Relations at California Biotech Company Amyris. A seasoned strategist with almost two decades of …
UNICA Expects Decline in Brazil Ethanol Exports
Ethanol exports from Brazil could drop by as much as 18% this season compared to last year, according to the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA). UNICA is expecting a slight increase in ethanol production this year, however. “Ethanol production should reach 25.51 billion liters in the 2011/2012 season, a 0.52% increase compared to the last harvest, when the total reached …
Energy Highlights of Obama Visit to Brazil
Energy was part of the agenda when President Obama visited Brazil over the weekend. During his visit, Obama and Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff agreed to launch a Strategic Energy Dialogue, to focus on both oil and biofuels. “Now even as we focus on oil in the near term, we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the only long-term solution …
Global Ethanol Leaders Together
In the great tradition of saving the best for last, the 2011 National Ethanol Conference concluded with a lively panel discussion featuring global ethanol leaders. Those on the panel were (LtoR) George Fitch, Director of the Caribbean Basic Ethanol Producers Association; Bob Dinneen, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association; Marcos Jank, president and CEO of Brazil’s UNICA; Robert …
Brazilian Ethanol Summit June 6-7, 2011
“The Ethanol Summit has been confirmed for June 6th and 7th at Sao Paulo’s Grand Hyatt Hotel (Brazil) hosted by the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) and Scania, a Swedish heavy truck manufacturer that has developed and manufactured ethanol powered buses and trucks, has signed on as a major sponsor for the event. This year’s theme is “Solutions for a …
SG Biofuels Opens Operations In Brazil
SG Biofuels, a bioenergy crop company focusing on Jatropha for biofuels, has officially opened operations in Brazil and has named Brazilian entrepreneur and genomics innovator Fernando Reinach as its senior advisor for the market. Reinach will provide strategic planning, business development and executive management support for SG Biofuels Brasil, LTD, the subsidiary that will be based in Sao Paulo. “We …
Brazil Sugarcane Harvest Update
The Brazilian sugarcane harvest is in full swing and sugarcane crushing in the South-Central region totaled 2.44 million tons in the second half of December 2010, a 76.39 percent drop from the same period in 2009. This raises the total since the beginning of the 2010/2011 harvest to 555.00 million tons. In early January, only 21 mills were operating in …
Velasco Leaves UNICA for Amyris
The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) announced today that Joel Velasco, the organization’s Washington, DC-based Chief Representative for North America, is leaving the position he has held since 2007, to join Amyris, Inc., as Senior Vice-President, External Relations. “Joel has provided UNICA with wise counsel, effective strategy and solid results. We wish him well at Amyris and will continue cooperating …
Deforestation Decline Debunks Land Use Change Theory
Rainforest deforestation rates have reached new lows, which further challenges the theory of international land use change that has been used to penalize corn ethanol for its carbon footprint. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced today that deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon declined 14 percent from August 2009 to July 2010, reaching the lowest rates ever recorded …
Brazil Ethanol Industry On Display At COP-16
In an effort to showcase decades of renewable energy use, the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) will be participating in events during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-16) and the World Climate Summit (WCS) which are taking place in tandem in Cancun, Mexico from November 29-December 10. According to UNICA, nearly 50 percent of all of Brazil’s energy comes …