March 2007
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This page includes information on News and Events in March 2007.
Events
- 1-2 March 2007, Arlington, Virginia, USA: 2007 Agricultural Outlook Forum: Agriculture at the Crossroads — Energy, Farm & Rural Policy
- 5 March 2007, Paris, France: Paris International Agricultural Fair: Sustainable palm oil production: research needs.
- 6-8 March 2007, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States: Power-GEN. Power-GEN addresses the "wind, solar, biomass and fuels, hydro and geothermal sectors."[1]
- 6-9 March 2007, Brussels, Belgium: World Biofuels Markets Congress & Exhibition . A "high-level business-networking event that will focus on strategies to increase the uptake of biofuels worldwide."[2]
- 8 March 2007, Washington, D.C., USA. Bioenergy in the Farm Bill: Policy Options for Conservation by The Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
- 9 March 2007, Brussels, Belgium: Biogas Markets.
- 12-14 March 2007, Cartagena, Colombia: Biofuels Americas Conference & Expo III.
- 13-14 March 2007, Lansing, Michigan: The Michigan Agri-Energy Conference, 2007 (pdf).
- 13-15 March 2007, Boston, Massachusetts: the North East Sustainable Energy Association's (NESEA) Building Energy 07.
- 14 March 2007, Albany, New York: Biofuels in New York State. Contact: Ed@eba-nys.org.
- 16 March 2007, Washington, D.C., USA: Biofuels and Tortillas: A US-Mexican Tale of Chances and Challenges. 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, 210 Cannon House Office Building.
- 16-20 March 2007, Guatemala City, Guatemala: InterAmerican Development Bank Annual Meeting. Includes (17 March 2007) Sustainable Energy for Sustainable Development.
- 19-21 March 2007, New York, New York: Ethanol Finance & Investment Summit.
- 20-22 March 2007, Washington, D.C., United States: THE 3rd ANNUAL 25x'25 RENEWABLE ENERGY SUMMIT. The focus will be on the 25x'25 Implementation Plan of February 2007.
- POSTPONED until May - 21 March 2007, Washington, D.C., USA: Biofuels Go Coastal. 10:00-11:30 a.m., 2212 Rayburn House Office Building
- 21-23 March 2007, Salzburg, Austria: Success and Visions for Bioenergy organized by ThermalNet- the new European Network for biomass pyrolysis, gasification and combustion.
- 21-24 March, 2007, Orlando, Florida, USA: World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing, organized by the Biotechnology Industry Organization.
- 26-28 March 2007, Washington, D.C., USA: Biomass and Biorefinery Deals 2007.
- 26-28 March 2007, Wageningen, The Netherlands: Expert Seminar on Jatropha Curcas - Agronomy and Genetics held at the Wageningen University (site in Dutch).
- 28-29 March 2007, St. Louis, Missouri, USA: Biomass Refining: Pathways to Sustainability and Security, a technical short course sponsored by Penn State University.
- 28-29 March 2007, Piteå, Sweden: First Annual Solander Symposium; focused on forest-based, pulp mill biorefinery concept.
- 29-30 March 2007, Abuja, Nigeria: Executive Reach Ethanol & Biofuels.
News
- UK minister confirms backing for biofuels but highlights need for sustainabilty, 30 March 2007 from Biofuelreview.com. "While outlining the UK government's backing for the development of the biofuels sector yesterday (29th March), transport Minister, Stephen Ladyman, nevertheless highlighted the need for sustainability in the market" while speaking at a renewable fuels conference.
- He stated that "Biofuels can offer many environmental benefits such as carbon savings, reduced air pollution and waste reduction. But we still have to recognise the dangers of destabilising land prices, over-stimulating the use of fertilisers and pesticides to grow energy crops, as well as the risks to biodiversity and soil quality."
- Castro hits out at US biofuel use, 29 March 2007 by the BBC, reports that "Cuban President Fidel Castro has strongly criticised the use of biofuels by the US....He said George W Bush's support for the use of food crops in fuel production would cause 3 [billion] deaths from hunger." Mr. Castro's artile in the Granma newspaper stated that "The sinister idea of converting food into combustibles was definitively established as the economic line of foreign policy of the United States."
- More U.S. college students studying clean energy 28 March 2007 by Reuters, reports that an increasing number of U.S. university students are "looking into careers in alternative energy, leading U.S. universities to add new courses on clean energy technologies and the environment."
- Farmers may plant 10 million more acres, 21 March 2007 by Farm News, reported that American farmers are preparing to plant "the largest corn crop the United States has seen since 1946." "Across the Corn Belt, farmers are clearly leaning toward planting more corn and fewer soybeans" with producers "near zones where more ethanol plants are being planned will plant at least two-thirds of their farmland to corn."
- Environmental Power announces first delivery of pipeline-quality biogas, 27 March 2007 from Biopact.com. Environmental Power Corporation has announced the first delivery in the USof biogas, produced from manure and other agricultural waste streams, into the natural gas pipeline.
- Chinese Biofuels Expansion Threatens Ecological Balance, 27 March 2007 from Renewable Energy Access. A recent agreement between China's top forestry authority and one of the nation's biggest energy giants to develop biofuels plantations in the southwest may come at great environmental loss to the region's forests and biological diversity.
- Corn can't solve our problem, 25 March 2007 by David Tilman and Jason Hill from the Washington Post. An op-ed on the advantages of mixed-prairie grasses and other native polycultures that can be grown on marginal lands over corn ethanol and other current biofuels.
- The future is not now for biomass ethanol industry, 27 March 2007, Omaha World-Herald, reports that cellulosic ethanol production "may find its biggest bottleneck" on farms. Harvesting the million tons of corn stover required for a commercial ethanol refinery "would take 67,000 semitrailer loads to haul the baled stubble out of the field," and "the need for trucks, machinery and manpower would come during harvest, already the busiest time of the year on the farm."
- "Current harvest practices indicate a cost of $56 per ton to bale and deliver corn stover to an ethanol plant. Researchers hope improved technology can bring the cost down to $30 per ton."[3]
- The article quotes Imperial, Nebraska, farmer Rod Johnson as saying, "Our main concern is $4-per-bushel corn (worth $750 to $800 an acre)....Thirty dollars an acre for biomass is a minor concern for our operation."[4]
- USDA Announces Notice of Funding Availability for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Loans and Grants, 21 March 2007 USDA Press Release. "Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced today the availability of $176.5 million in loan guarantees and $11.4 million in grants to support investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements by agricultural producers and small businesses."
- Leftist Brazilian President Silva slammed for calling ethanol producers 'heroes', 21 March 2007 from the International Herald Tribune. "Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was roundly criticized at home Wednesday for calling well-off ethanol producers 'national and world heroes.'" Critics noted that the sugarcane harvesters often worked in slave-like conditions and the expansion of plantations had severe environmental impacts.
- Dow Introduces Propylene Glycol Derived from Biodiesel By-Product, 19 March 2007 from Greencarcongress.com. Dow Chemical has introduced a propylene glycol derived from glycerin, a major by-product of biodiesel production. Propylene glycol is used in a number of industrial and end-use products.
- Ethanol's Growing List of Enemies, 19 March 2007 from Business Week. An unlikely coalition of livestock farmers, free-marketers, and environmentalists is coming together to oppose government subisidies for corn ethanol.
- Thailand may import palm oil for biodiesel 18 March 2007, from Greencarcongress.com. Thailand may allow imports of palm oil for biodiesel production, as domestic production may not be sufficient. Thailand is considering a mandatory B5 blend for diesel.
- GSPI Consortium to Construct "Algae-to-Biodiesel" Facilities in Two Countries, 15 March 2007, from CSRwire.com. "Green Star Products, Inc. announced today that its Consortium of independent companies will begin construction of two demonstration "algae-to-biodiesel" production facilities in the US and abroad."
- Brazil and Indonesia in biofuels agreement, 15 March 2007 from Green Car Congress. Brazil and Indonesia have signed an agreement for cooperation on biofuels. The memorandum for the creation of a Brazil-Indonesia Consultative Committee on Biofuels sets the stage for Brazil to help Indonesia develop its ethanol industry. Indonesia is planning on using 2.25 million hectares to grow sugarcane and cassava as feedstocks for ethanol production.
- Biofuels and the Green Resistance, 15 March 2007, from http://www.infoshop.org. Energy company BP is investing a half-billion dollars in a bioenergy research laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley. Students and some professors have begun a campaign to stop this activity, however, due to worries about the creation of genetically modified energy crops and the influence that the oil company will have on the curriculum.
- Purdue University unveils biofuels process "to meet all U.S. transportation needs", 14 March 2007 from Biofuel Review. An improved version of a biomass-to-liquids technology, the new approach, called a hybrid hydrogen-carbon process, adds hydrogen from a "carbon-free" energy source, such as solar or nuclear power, during gasification. "Adding hydrogen during this step suppresses the formation of carbon dioxide and increases the efficiency of the process, making it possible to produce three times the volume of biofuels from the same quantity of biomass."
- EU sets bold targets for the use of renewable energy, 12 March 2007 from Biofuel Review. "The European Union (EU) has undertaken to increase the use of renewable energy to 20% by 2020. This was agreed by the EU’s Heads of State and Government in Brussels on Friday (9th March)." The target will be for the entire EU and individual countries will not necessarily have to meet the 20%. Specific plans for each country will developed in later negotiations.
- Will dead trees revive forest industries?, 10 March 2007 from BIOstock Blog takes a look at the devastating fire potential of dead trees in British Columbia and Southern California caused by bark beetles. It also reports on a newly announced call for proposals by the BC government to establish environmentally clean wood-to-bioenergy facilities to fund removal of the dead trees there for conversion to electricity and biofuels.
- ACORE wins BIG in Vegas, 10 March 2007 from BIOconversion Blog is a review of the recently concluded Power-Gen Renewable Energy & Fuels conference sponsored by ACORE in Las Vegas March 5-8.
- Brazil and the United States sign deal on biofuels cooperation, 9 March 2007 from Biofuel Review. "US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim today (9th March) signed a memorandum of understanding to advance cooperation on biofuels. The purpose of the MOU is to highlight the importance of biofuels as a transformative force in the region to diversify energy supplies, bolster economic growth, advance sustainable development, and protect the environment."
- Climate change initiative approved by the Inter-American Development Bank, 8 March 2007 press release, notes that the Inter-American Development Bank's newly approved Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative "calls for the IDB to help countries assess their potential as producers of biofuels, promote policies that support biofuel development, and finance biofuel projects and the adaptation of new biofuel technologies."
- "In the past year the IDB approved financing for a number of projects to promote sustainable energy and climate change mitigation," including an "analysis of the role and potential for biofuels in Central America," an "assessment of the potential for biofuel production from sugar cane in Guyana, Jamaica and Barbados," and an "assessment study of biofuels for transport in Mexico."[5]
- Brazil's Ethanol Plan Breeds Rural Poverty, Environmental Degradation, 6 March 2007 by Isabella Kenfield in an essay for International Relations Center, reports that Brazilian organizations are "conducting a study to plan Brazil's ethanol exports as a substitute for 10% of the global use of gasoline in 20 years," and that as a consequence the "geographic area planted with sugarcane will increase from 6 million to 30 million hectares."
- Despite the positive benefits that may result, "[m]any citizen organizations in Brazil are concerned that what appears to be an economic panacea may be a social and ecological disaster....They claim that as the industry expands and more hectares are planted mono-cropping sugarcane, existing problems in rural areas of landlessness, hunger, unemployment, environmental degradation, and agrarian conflicts will be exacerbated."
- Kenfield also asserts that "the Brazilian ethanol industry represents a direct challenge to food sovereignty and agrarian reform."
- A closer look at sustainability criteria for biofuels, 07 March 2007 from Biopact. Examines the potential impact of sustainability criteria as evaluated in an IEA Task Force 40: FAIRBiotrade report, and suggests that not only can enough biomass be produced to satisfy the world's energy needs, but that it can be done in a sustainable manner.
- As Biofuels Boom, Will More Go Hungry?, 7 March 2007 by Reuters, cautions that the impact of increased biofuels production will vary depending on the circumstances in different developing countries, and that the "biofuel goldrush could be a moneyspinner for several poor countries, but some experts warn people may go hungry as food prices rise."
- "Even though the biofuel boom is only just beginning, it has already pushed up the cost of staples in places like Mexico where rocketing tortilla prices have sparked angry protests....Soaring U.S. demand for ethanol...has sent maize prices to their highest level in a decade."
- Success derails biofuels bandwagon, 6 March 2007 by Reuters, asserts that the "global, government policy-fuelled rush to produce biofuels is backfiring as it pushes up costs and makes the environmentally-friendly alternative fuel far less competitive." According to the article, excess production capacity "is risking a surplus in the United States and elsewhere" and high costs for feedstocks are making biofuels less competitive with petroleum.
- Bush Seeks Ethanol Alliance With Brazil, 4 March 2007 by AP, reported that U.S. President Bush will sign an agreement with Brazilian President da Silva on Friday, 9 March, in São Paulo to "to develop standards to help turn ethanol into an internationally traded commodity, and to promote sugar cane-based ethanol production in Central America and the Caribbean to meet rising international demand." The article notes that "coming up with technical standards to define quality levels for ethanol is key to turn it into a commodity that could be traded like oil."
- U.S., Brazil plan ethanol partnership, 2 March 2007 by USA Today, reports that an international partnership to promote trade in ethanol is to be launched during U.S. President Bush's visit to Brazil next week. The article reports that the "USA and Brazil produce more than 70% of the world's ethanol" and that the partnership will promote "research to make ethanol production more efficient" and work to create "a global market."
- Biofuel - Experts in Zambia call for caution, 1 March 2007 from the Times of Zambia. While Zambia has ambitious plans to increase biofuel production to replace petroleum, experts are calling for more research on jatropha and other introduced energy crops before wide-scale planting are done.
- Countries launch forum to transform biofuels into commodities, 1 March 2007 by ANBA, reports that the International Biofuels Forum -- a multilateral effort involving Brazil, China, the European Commission, India, South Africa and the United States to "create common norms and standards international trade" in biofuels -- is to be formally lauched 2 March 2007 at a meeting at United Nations headquarters.
- U.S. DOE to Invest in Cellulose-to-Ethanol Projects, 1 March 2007 by Renewableenergyaccess.com, reported that The U.S. Department of Energy announced on 28 February 2007 that funding totalling $385 million will be provided to "six U.S. biorefinery projects over the next four years." The funding will promote research and development of cellulosic ethanol and methanol production. The companies are Abengoa Bioenergy, ALICO, BlueFire Ethanol, Broin, Iogen, and Range Fuels.
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