In a bid to get the United States to eliminate tariffs on imported ethanol, the Brazilian government has announced it will reduce their tax on ethanol imports to zero from the current 20 percent through the end of next year. The Brazilian Chamber of Foreign Trade (CAMEX) announced the temporary reduction Monday and it is expected to go into effect …
UK Report on Food Crisis Vindicates Ethanol
A new report commissioned by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has concluded that drought and high oil prices, not biofuels, were behind the so-called food crisis of 2007/2008. “Available evidence suggests that biofuels had a relatively small contribution to the 2008 spike in agricultural commodity prices,” the report noted. “Studies which have found a large …
Biodiesel Focus of GM, DOE Study
General Motors has announced a five-year partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to study using jatropha plants for biodiesel. UPI reports that the test sites in India will look at whether jatropha can produce enough oil for the green fuel: Farms with more than 200 acres of the drought-resistant, non-edible plant will host life-cycle studies near GM plants in …
Record Global Ethanol Production Forecast
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) has released its 2010 production forecast for ethanol which indicates a positive trend for growth in the industry. Total ethanol production for 2009 was 73.9 billion litres (19.5 billion gallons) according to data assembled by F.O. Licht. The GRFA predicts global production will reach 85.9 billion litres (22.7 billion gallons) in 2010, up more …
Brazilian Ethanol Powers IndyCar Series Again
The IZOD IndyCar Series makes its debut this weekend in South America with the Sao Paulo Indy 300 powered by Brazilian ethanol. The Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) has renewed its fuel supply agreement with the Indy Racing League for the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series season, which opens on Sunday, March 14, with a race in Brazil’s largest city, São …
R4R – Research for Renewables Event Launched
Everyone needs an excuse to go to Italy and now you have one – Solarexpo. Solarexpo in an international conference and expo on renewable energy and distributed generation. The event will be held on May 5-7, 2010 in Italy and as part of the event, is launching the R4R – Research for Renewables event. R4R is a “research consortium” of …
Shipping Giant Maersk to Test Biodiesel
Dutch shipping giant Maersk Line is joining with Lloyd’s Register to test biodiesel in its marine engines for the next two years. This story from the Journal of Commerce says the feasibility study on the container ship Maersk Kalmar will be funded in part by the Dutch government: Using fatty acid methyl esters – a biodiesel product known as FAME …
Industry Calls OPEC Report “Self Serving”
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) has come out today calling a recent OPEC report “self serving.” The report, co-written by the former Secretary General of the OPEC oil cartel, criticized biofuels while according to GRFA, ignoring the overwhelming evidence on the devastating impact of crude oil on the environment and on our economies. The report will be released during …
Report: Global Biodiesel Market Worth $12.6 Bil by 2014
A new market research report says that the biodiesel market will be worth $12.6 billion by the year 2014. This press release says the MarketsandMakets report, entitled ‘Global Biodiesel Market (2009 – 2014)’, says the markets in Europe and the Americas will make up nearly 85 percent of that total, with 55.6 percent and 28.6 percent respectively: Increasing environmental concerns …
Evogene Researching Castor Bean for Biofuels
There is no shortage of potential feedstocks for biofuels and yesterday, Evogene Ltd based in Rehovot, Israel announced that it will be conducting field trials in Texas and Brazil of its proprietary castor bean lines. The trials will be conducted in conjunction with Texas AgriLife Research in Texas, which is part of the Texas A&M System, and South Cone Agriculture …