Wednesday Edition

06.18.08

GLOBAL

Oil fell for a fourth day on Wednesday as more investors appeared convinced that top exporter Saudi Arabia's plan to boost supply could tame prices. US crude futures for July fell to $133.70 a barrel on Wednesday, after briefly hitting a record of nearly $140 on Monday.

Case Construction Equipment announced it has approved the use of B20 blends for more than 85% of its construction equipment used internationally. In June 2006, Case became the first construction equipment manufacturer to approve the use of B5 blends.

NORTH AMERICA

On Tuesday, the US Senate failed to gain cloture by eight votes on an energy tax extender package for the second time in a week. The tax package contained a one-year extension of the $1.00 per gallon biodiesel tax credit.

Allegro Biodiesel Corporation of California has entered into a definitive agreement with Consolidated Energy Holdings (CEH), in which CEH will purchase Allegro's subsidiary, Vanguard Synfuels. Vanguard holds Allegro’s biodiesel operations.

In Texas, a collaborative agreement to jointly research, develop, and breed sorghum for the second-generation biofuels market has been launched by MMR Genetics, Richardson Seeds, and Mendel.

PetroSun announced that the Pinal County Board of Supervisors has approved zoning of an algae biodiesel plant near Coolidge, AZ.

In Canada, Suncor Energy is continuing with a $120 million expansion to double the size of its St. Clair, Ontario ethanol plant, which is the largest in the country. Construction is scheduled to be completed in late 2009, increasing production to 106 million gallons per year.

SOUTH AMERICA

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez said on Tuesday she will send a bill to Congress aimed at ratifying a soy export tax to quell the farmers' strike and surrounding political crisis. Farmers will meet on Wednesday to discuss halting their protests. Truckers are also still active in demanding a solution.

Brazil's National Council for Energy Policy has changed the mandatory blending of biodiesel to 3% as of July 1, 2008, up from the current 2% blend. The decision expands the market for biodiesel from 224 million gallons to 343 million gallons per year.

Ecuadorian biodiesel producer La Fabril plans to invest $40 million in a biodiesel plant on the Peruvian border to take advantage of Peru’s decision to use biofuel beginning in 2009. The plant is scheduled to be operational within three to four years.

In Brazil, the 185,000 gallon per month Biopar biodiesel plant began production on June 15, 2008. The fuel will be sold to Petrobras.

Brazil's soy industry will sign an agreement to extend for one year an industry-wide ban on the purchase of soybeans from deforested areas in the Amazon, an official at the Brazilian Vegetable Oils Industry Association confirmed this week.

Colombia and Guatemala signed an accord on June 13, 2008 for construction of a 2600 gallon per day pilot biodiesel plant in northeast Guatemala. The Colombian Government will initially invest $650,000 and the Guatemalan government will provide the necessary infrastructure for installation. The plant is expected to be online in November 2008.

EUROPE

Biomass is likely to have a crucial role in Europe's ability to meet its renewable fuel targets by 2020, according to a new report, Strategic Assessment for European Biomass Energy Markets from Frost & Sullivan. The report states biomass is the largest renewable resource in use and offers cost effective and sustainable opportunities that can meet the rising energy demand in the region.

German biodiesel producer Gate Global Alternative Energy Holding will be transferred to a new company and restructured. Gate had said its 200,000 ton biodiesel plant in Wittenberg and 60,000 ton plant in Halle have been operating under capacity, and its 100,000 ton plant at Enns in Austria declared insolvency in March.

ASIA / PACIFIC

Indian railways are planning to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and move to less expensive alternatives like biodiesel from pongamia, jatropha, and used cooking oil, the Business Standard reports. The Mechanical Railway Board plans to invest $16 million initially to set up biodiesel plants, with an initial annual capacity of 52,800 gallons.

Indonesia is in the process of implementing the mandatory use of biofuels in the country starting in September, Dow Jones reports. The biofuel blend percentage has yet to be fixed, but is expected to be around 3%.

In the state of Kolkata, India, West Bengal Green Energy Development is planning to offer incentives for those who use biofuel vehicles, the Times of India reports. The move is intended to reduce the use of gas and diesel, and lower pollution.

AFRICA

In Johannesburg, South Africa, biofuel investors have lost interest because the government has failed to provide sufficient incentives to launch the sector, the SA Biofuels Association said. The sharp increase in prices for feedstocks has also dampened interest, as the government has taken a cautious approach towards the use of crops in production of biofuels out of concern that it would compromise food security. The government has also barred jatropha as an invasive plant.

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