A new international study indicates that small-scale bioenergy plants can play a significant role in rural development for poorer nations. The new report, “Small Scale Bioenergy Initiatives: Brief Description and Preliminary Lessons on Livelihood Impacts from Case Studies in Latin America, Asia and Africa,” was published jointly by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UK’s Department …
Ethanol Half The Price Of Gas In Brazil
I think Joel Velasco, Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, had the quote of the day here at the Farm Foundation Transition To A Bio Economy Conference. He said that carbon is the new agricultural commodity and that our incentive is to produce less of it and get paid for it. So, grow a crop, sell it and maybe earn some carbon …
Description Of EU Renewable Energy Mandate
Speaking on behalf of the European Commission To The United States here at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference was Laurent Javaudin. His comments focused on the impact of EU mandates for renewable energy. To start with, in the EU they don’t have a mandate of a certain number of gallons of biofuels. Instead they are looking at requiring …
Ethanol Production Affects Meat Trading Patterns
Biofuels production in Canada will impact meat trading patterns according to research by Al Mussell, George Morris Centre, University of Guelph. He says that the increase in biofuels production will turn the country into an importer of grains instead of an exporter. Al was one of the speakers at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference. He says that as …
Poverty And Biofuels Production
A very interesting presentation at our Farm Foundation Global Trade and Policy Issues conference had to do with the impact on poverty. Tom Hertel, Purdue University, was our presenter. He says they conducted an international study of 16 developing countries and the impact of biofuels production on the poverty level. As he puts it, it’s a very complex issue. Most …
Technical Global Biofuels Analysis
Providing us with a “Technical Global Biofuels Analysis” here at the Farm Foundation Global Trade & Policy Issues conference was Thomas Alfstad, Brookhaven National Laboratory. Thomas was on the program to speak about a technical global biofuels analysis. He says that last year they completed a study on biofuels. They looked at the U.S. importing fuels to meet the RFS. …
Energy Outlook
Michael Schaal is with the Energy Information Administration which is part of the U. S. Dept. of Energy. He spoke early on the program at the Farm Foundation conference about the global outlook for energy. He says they were actually looking at trends through 2030. He says that developing countries will be significantly increasing their fuel consumption which will be …
Biofuels Globally Topic of Farm Foundation Conference
Today and tomorrow I’ll be covering the Farm Foundation, Transition To A Bio Economy Conference: Global Trade and Policy Issues. Biofuels is the main topic of discussion. Wally Tyner is an energy economist with the Dept. of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. He’s one of the first speakers on the program. I was able to speak with him before things …
Brazil and US Talk Ethanol Tariffs
President Barack Obama and President Lula da Silva of Brazil talked about the touchy topic of ethanol tariffs when they met for the first time on Saturday. Asked about their discussions during a joint press conference, President Obama praised Brazil for its leadership in biofuels but acknowledged that “the issue of Brazilian ethanol coming into the United States has been …
Biofuels Industries Form Global Renewable Fuels Alliance
The Renewable Fuels Association, the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association and the European Bioethanol Industry Organization have joined together to form the Global Renewable FuelsAlliance. Their first initiative is to reach out to the World Bank, along with other organizations, to encourage them to make investments in developing countries’ biofuels infrastructure a top priority. While Brazil is not yet a part …