Wednesday Edition

04.02.08

GLOBAL

World demand for biofuels will expand nearly 20% annually to 92 million metric tons in 2011, according to a study by Cleveland-based industry research firm Freedonia Group. The study says demand will increase despite recent concerns about the impact of biofuels on the environment and world food supplies. Market expansion will come from a more than doubling of the world market for ethanol, and increased demand in global biodiesel demand. The trend will favor development of corn and wheat ethanol capacity in North America and Western Europe, as well as sugar-based ethanol production in South America. Biodiesel production will center on soybean oil in the Americas, rapeseed oil in Europe, and palm and jatropha oil in the Asia/Pacific region. Next generation cellulosic ethanol and algal biodiesel technologies will become commercially significant in the longer term.

NORTH AMERICA

The US Senate will begin debating legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions from the power, natural gas, transportation, and industrial sectors at 71% below 2005 levels by 2050. Proposed legislation includes using emissions trading programs to allow emitting sources to swap allowances to help them meet pollution restrictions.

US farmers will plant more soybean and wheat this year after prices reached record highs, while corn and cotton acres will drop, the US Department of Agriculture reports. Growers will plant 75 million acres with soybeans, up 18% from last year. Spring wheat planting will increase 7.8%, as corn acreage drops 8.1%. Increased soybean and wheat planting may help refill dwindling inventories, while declining corn output may squeeze supplies available for ethanol makers. Prices for most farm commodities reached records this year on rising demand for food, fuel, and animal feed.

The US Department of Energy has released a paper on its website titled “Biofuels & Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Myths versus Facts” (http://www.energy.gov/). DOE says biofuels must continue to play a significant role in providing a balanced portfolio of energy solutions to meet the nation's growing energy demand.

The state of Texas has approved ORYXE Energy International's biodiesel additive ORYXE® LED for use under the Texas Low Emission Diesel Program (TxLED) in biodiesel blends up to B20. The additive was previously approved for blends up to B5.

Also in Texas, a group of investors has dropped plans to spend $5 million converting a closed Santa Fe concrete plant into a biodiesel plant using animal fats and vegetable oils. CB Biodiesel officials said they would relocate their venture to another part of the county but declined to say where.

Delta BioFuels of has been awarded BQ-9000 producer accreditation for its 80 million gallon per year biodiesel plant in Natchez, MS.

A Nevada man was booked in Santa Clara County Jail in California this week on charges of removing grease from a grease trap at a local restaurant, reportedly to convert it into biodiesel. The owner of a local tallow company saw the man in a 5,000 gallon truck, using a hose and a pump on the truck to remove the grease.

VeraSun Energy Corp’s merger with US BioEnergy Corp was approved by a majority vote of shareholders of both companies, effective April 1. VeraSun now owns and operates ten ethanol plants with an annual capacity of 980 million gallons per year; seven other facilities are under development. By the end of 2008, the company expects to have 16 production facilities in operation with a capacity of 1.6 billion gallons.

ConocoPhillips said it will collaborate with the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Iowa State University to identify promising cellulosic biomass conversion technologies for biofuels. The group plans to develop conversion technologies using corn stalks, stems, leaves and other non-food agricultural residues, as well as hardy grasses and fast-growing trees as feedstocks for future transportation fuels. The processes to be examined by the research group will include gasification, pyrolysis and fermentation.

The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association applauded British Columbian Premier Gordon Campbell for leadership with the 2008 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act. The bill will implement a 5% renewable fuel standard for petroleum diesel by 2010 and 5% ethanol content in gasoline by 2010.

SOUTH AMERICA

According to local reports, Argentine farmers will suspend their strike today for 20 to 30 days. This unilateral move is being taken as the government’s unwillingness to negotiate threatens the harvest. A large public gathering at Plaza de Mayo yesterday in support of the government put pressure on farmers to make a move. This is viewed as a win for the government, but also signaled there are limits to what the government can impose policy. Farmers say they expect to re-engage in negotiation with the government during April, but there are no signs from the government, which has now suspended beef exports.

Integrated Biodiesel Industries announced its 25,000 mt per year Diferoil Plant in Rosario, Argentina will go online April 30th. The Vice President of Manufacturing expects the plant “to be running at maximum output as early as May 2008."

Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state and the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz will sign an agreement for cooperation in sugar and ethanol industry research. The agreement envisages businessmen from Sao Paulo's Piracicaba region to provide know-how to interested Mexican entrepreneurs and to show them the technologies they use in sugar and ethanol mills. Sao Paulo also targets to sign agreements for exports of technologies for ethanol production to Mexico. Veracruz is Mexico's largest sugar producer and Brazil is the world's leading ethanol exporter.

EUROPE

Daka Biodiesel, subsidiary of Danish animal by-products processor Daka AMBA, has opened a 14.5 million gallon per year biodiesel plant in Hedensted, on the Jutland peninsula. The plant is the first of its kind in Denmark and will use lard that cannot be used for nutritional purposes. The company says a large part of its biodiesel production will be exported.

The government of Portugal has exempted seven biodiesel producers from the ISP tax from 2008 to 2010. A total of over 264 million gallons of biodiesel produced by Iberol, Torrejana, Prio, Biovegetal, Sovena, Valouro and Greencyber will be exempted.

German producer EOP Biodiesel AG posted sales of $62 million in the first six months of FY 2008, up 119% from the year before; 88% came from biodiesel sales, 11% from rapeseed crushing; and 1% from trading activities. With high raw material prices, EBIT fell to a loss of $3.3 million, compared with $1.5 million profit last year.

ASIA / PACIFIC

The Indian government announced establishment of a National Biofuel Development Board under the Ministry of New Renewable Energy. Among its duties, the board is expected to guide implementation of a proposed mandatory blending of 20% ethanol with petroleum. The Ministry of Rural Development also announced it will provide financial assistance to 24 Indian states to grow jatropha and pongamia seedlings.

Also in India, state oil company Indian Oil Corp. has signed an MOU with the government setting out targets for 2008-2009 for cleaner, sustainable energy use, including a study of 10% ethanol in petroleum. The company says it will also start planting biocrops in Chhattisgarh.

As an anti-inflationary measure, India has abolished its import duty on crude edible oil, and cut the duty on refined edible oils to 7.5%, the Finance Minister announced. The head of research at MS Global said the duty cut on crude edible oil would keep palm oil at a premium to soy oil even though there would be more imports.

Pakistan’s Minister of State is studying the feasibility of biodiesel use by the army. The aim of the program is to see how biodiesel can be used, not only for military purposes but for civil uses as well. The army has begun cultivation of jatropha on military farms in Secunderabad, Ahmednagar, and Mhow.

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