PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
Global biofuels production increased 17% in 2010, says report
Lagos, Nigeria (PANA) - Global production of biofuels increased 17 per cent in 2010, to reach an all-time high of 105 billion litres, up from 90 billion litres in 2009, according to research conducted by the Worldwatch Institute's Climate and Energy Programme for the website Vital Signs Online.
High oil prices, a global economic rebound, and new laws and mandates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China and the US, among other countries, are all factors behind the surge in production, the research showed.
The US and Brazil remain the two largest producers of ethanol, the institute said, adding that in 2010, US generated 49 billion litres or 57 per cent of global output, while Brazil produced 28 billion litres or 33 per cent of the total.
It said corn was the primary feedstock for US ethanol and sugarcane, the dominant source of ethanol in Brazil.
"In the United States, the record production of biofuels is attributed in part to high oil prices, which encouraged several large fuel companies, including Sunoco, Valero, Flint Hills and Murphy Oil, to enter the ethanol industry," said Alexander Ochs, Director of Worldwatch's Climate and Energy Programme.
High oil prices were also a factor in Brazil, where every third car-owner drives a "flex-fuel" vehicle that can run on either fossil or bio-based fuels.
Many Brazilian drivers have switched to sugarcane ethanol because it is cheaper than gasoline.
"Although the US and Brazil are the world leaders in ethanol, the largest producer of biodiesel is the European Union, which generated 53 per cent of all biodiesel in 2010," said Ochs, adding "however, we may see some European countries switch from biodiesel to ethanol because a recent report from the European Commission states that ethanol crops have a higher energy content than biodiesel crops, making them more efficient sources of fuel," the newsletter stated.
Vital Signs authors Sam Shrank, a Worldwatch MAP Sustainable Energy Fellow and Farhad Farahmand, a Climate and Energy research intern, also explored how new mandates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada and China have altered the biofuel industries in these countries.
"In Argentina, the biodiesel industry grew not only because of favourable conditions for growing soybeans but also in response to a new B7 blending mandate, which requires the fuel to be seven per cent biodiesel and 93 per cent diesel," the programme stated.
Accordingly, biodiesel producers in Argentina are investing heavily in facilities to increase production.
In the United States, however, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to dramatically lower the country's production target for cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel that is made from woody plants or crop waste and that can be converted to ethanol much more efficiently than conventional ethanol, resulting in lower associated greenhouse gas emissions.
It explained further that, "The EPA's target reduction reflects the technical challenges and high costs of commercializing so-called 'second-generation' biofuels," said Shrank, adding that, "instead of the 950 million liters required initially under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, the final target will be a much smaller 25 million liters."
-0- PANA PR/BOS 30Aug2011
High oil prices, a global economic rebound, and new laws and mandates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China and the US, among other countries, are all factors behind the surge in production, the research showed.
The US and Brazil remain the two largest producers of ethanol, the institute said, adding that in 2010, US generated 49 billion litres or 57 per cent of global output, while Brazil produced 28 billion litres or 33 per cent of the total.
It said corn was the primary feedstock for US ethanol and sugarcane, the dominant source of ethanol in Brazil.
"In the United States, the record production of biofuels is attributed in part to high oil prices, which encouraged several large fuel companies, including Sunoco, Valero, Flint Hills and Murphy Oil, to enter the ethanol industry," said Alexander Ochs, Director of Worldwatch's Climate and Energy Programme.
High oil prices were also a factor in Brazil, where every third car-owner drives a "flex-fuel" vehicle that can run on either fossil or bio-based fuels.
Many Brazilian drivers have switched to sugarcane ethanol because it is cheaper than gasoline.
"Although the US and Brazil are the world leaders in ethanol, the largest producer of biodiesel is the European Union, which generated 53 per cent of all biodiesel in 2010," said Ochs, adding "however, we may see some European countries switch from biodiesel to ethanol because a recent report from the European Commission states that ethanol crops have a higher energy content than biodiesel crops, making them more efficient sources of fuel," the newsletter stated.
Vital Signs authors Sam Shrank, a Worldwatch MAP Sustainable Energy Fellow and Farhad Farahmand, a Climate and Energy research intern, also explored how new mandates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada and China have altered the biofuel industries in these countries.
"In Argentina, the biodiesel industry grew not only because of favourable conditions for growing soybeans but also in response to a new B7 blending mandate, which requires the fuel to be seven per cent biodiesel and 93 per cent diesel," the programme stated.
Accordingly, biodiesel producers in Argentina are investing heavily in facilities to increase production.
In the United States, however, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to dramatically lower the country's production target for cellulosic ethanol, a biofuel that is made from woody plants or crop waste and that can be converted to ethanol much more efficiently than conventional ethanol, resulting in lower associated greenhouse gas emissions.
It explained further that, "The EPA's target reduction reflects the technical challenges and high costs of commercializing so-called 'second-generation' biofuels," said Shrank, adding that, "instead of the 950 million liters required initially under the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, the final target will be a much smaller 25 million liters."
-0- PANA PR/BOS 30Aug2011
