June 2007

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Bioenergy > Bioenergy timeline > 2007 > June 2007

This page includes information on News and Events in June 2007.

Events

• 1-3 June 2007, Sydney, Australia: International Green Build and Renewable Expo.
• 4-6 June 2007, Ghent, Belgium: International Conference on Renewable Resources & Biorefineries.
• 5-7 June 2007, Helsinki, Finland: PulPaper 2007: International Conference on Innovative and sustainable use of forest resources, including Biorefinery session.
• 7-8 June 2007, Singapore: Biofuels Supply Chain.
• 10-12 June 2007, Big Sky, Montana, USA: Fuels, From Farm Fields to Fuel Tanks organized by Ethanol Producers And Consumers (EPAC).
• 11-13 June 2007, Stockholm, Sweden: Nordic Bioenergy 2007.
• 12-13 June 2007, Singapore: Biofuels Markets Asia.
• 12-13 June 2007, Singapore: Renewable Energy Finance Asia.
• 13–14 June 2007, Berlin-Dahlewitz, Germany: Rye Europe 2007 - the European Rye Congress. Organized by the [Rye Forum].
• 14-15 June 2007, Singapore: Biogas Markets Asia.
• 14-15 June 2007, Singapore: Carbon Markets Asia.
• 15-17 June 2007, Custer, Wisconsin: Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair.
• 19-20 June 2007, Barcelona, Spain: Clean Fuels 2007.
• 24 - 26 June 2007, Ithaca, NY: The 2007 New York Renewable Energy Summit
• 26-28 June 2007, Madrid, Spain: Renewable Energy Europe 2007. Event hosted by PennWell (owner of the POWER-GEN Europe event and publisher of Renewable Energy World magazine).
• 26-29 June 2007, St. Louis, Missouri, USA: 23rd Annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo, St. organized by BBI International.
• 27-28 June 2007, Jakarta, Indonesia: Biodiesel Forum 2007.
• 28-29 June 2007, Houston Texas: Biodiesel Investor 2007. Event organized by Platts.

News

June 2007

• Charity attacks rush for biofuels, 29 June 2007, by BBC, reported that "A furious attack on the drive to grow more biofuels has been launched by a charity supporting poor farmers in developing countries. The charity - called Grain - says its research shows the rush for biofuels is causing much more environmental and social damage than previously realised."
• First-of-its-kind ethanol plant goes on-line in Nebraska. A corn-ethanol plant that uses no fossil fuel inputs is up and running in Mead, Nebraska. It claims an energy balance of 49 to 1.
• Groups from around the world call for a moratorium on EU incentives for biofuels from large-scale monocultures. Joint Press Release by EcoNexus, Biofuelwatch, Corporate Europe Observatory (27th June). More than 30 groups from around the world are calling for a Moratorium to stop the EU rush for biofuels (or agrofuels). They warn that agrofuel production for EU markets will accelerate climate change, destroy biodiversity and uproot local communities. EcoNexus' call for a moratorium.
• Sustainability Reporting within the RTFO: Framework Report (PDF file). Within the Renewabke Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO), this report describes the sustainability criteria to be reported by obligated companies. The Methodology on Carbon Reporting (PDF file) is a separate document.
• Study of Greenhouse Gas Balance of Bioenergy Crops, 18 June 2007 from Biopact. Study: greenhouse gas balance of different energy cropping systems (18th June): In a recent open-access study published in Ecological Applications, Paul Adler from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and colleagues compare the net production of carbon dioxide and two other greenhouse gases (GHG) associated with producing biofuels via different pathways from several bioenergy crops.
• UK Government scraps duty on biofuel production, 21 June 2006, from www.24dash.com. The UK government has eliminated duties and reporting requirement on biofuel producers who make less then 2500 L/yr. This is aimed mostly at allowing people to make biodiesel for their own personal use.
• Warning to producers of biofuel to give up sugar, 19 June 2007, by the Financial Times, quoted Sir Nicholas Stern, author of the UK's Stern Review on the economics of climate change, as saying, "I don't believe that sugar and corn could possibly carry the weight of transport." In light of the fact that sugar cane requires large amounts of water as well as fertile land, Sir Nicholas advocated concentrating biofuels production on crops that would not compete with food production. "The key thing is to grow it on marginal land, [of] which [there] is a lot in central Asia, western Brazil, around the Sahara, and in parts of Indonesia," he said.[1]
• Japanese Biofuel Project in Brazil Creates 50,000 Direct Jobs, 19 June 2007 from Brazzilmag.com. Japan's Itochu and Petrobras of Brazil have agreed to cooperate on a project in Pernambuco State in Brazil's Northeast, involving construction of a large "Canal of the Savannah" and conversion of 150,000 hectares to planting of sugarcane, castor beans and other biofuel crops. Japan is interested in developing biofuel sources in Brazil and elsewhere to help meet their own biofuel and Kyoto Protocol targets.
• OECD conference on biofuels (presentations available for download) was succesfully held on the 4th and 5th of June in Copenhagen with a focus on the land use-related issues and socio-economic aspects of the biofuel chain. More than 50 environmental scientists, geographers, economists, social experts and various stakeholders from the corporate sector were in discussions there. Among the numerous findings presented, the tradeoffs between land conservation and the impacts related to the intensification of agriculture appeared to be becoming more and more problematic, as well as the risk that biofuels might only exacerbate the already difficult socio-economic conditions of farmers in southern countries without leading to any real improvement in conditions.
• United Nations’ food envoy warns of the development of biofuels (Reuters)., 14 June 2007, “Jean Ziegler, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, accused the European Union, Japan and the United States of "total hypocrisy" for promoting biofuels to cut their own dependency on imported oil”
• Solar Panels, Biofuel and Tidal Turbines in Bloomberg Plans, 12 June 2007 from the New York Times. The mayor of New York City has announced a plan to increase renewable energy use through tide-driven turbines, as well as outfitting municipal buildings with solar panels and buying heating oil containing biofuels. By summer 2008, "30 percent of the city’s heating oil purchases would be required to contain 5 percent biofuel, which could grow to 10 percent by 2010 and 20 percent by 2012. A City Councilman has also proposed a requirement that private buildings, including homes and offices, use a 5 percent mix by 2009, increasing to a 20 percent mix by 2012.
• Thailand pumps to go all-bio-diesel, 11 June 2007 from the Bangkok Post. Thailand will mandate B2 (2% biodiesel blend) across the entire country from April 2008. That will be increased to B5 in the near future, as the country moves ahead with its plan to have 20% renewable fuels by 2012. Most of the biodiesel will be made from palm oil.
• No free ride: Biofuel development could cost U.S. billions, 9 June 2007 from The Madison Times. As the US Congress considers a massive increase in the Renewable Fuel Standard, which mandates the use of biofuels, little attention has been paid to the cost to the taxpayers. "If the current tax credits, grants and loan guarantees are extended, the package would cost taxpayers an additional $140 billion over the next 15 years. New proposals under consideration in Congress could raise the tab to $205 billion."
• Branson's lean, green, biofuel machine, 9 June 2007 from the New Zealand Herald. The first trials of trains running on a biodiesel blend in Europe have started. The Virgin train will run on a B20 biodiesel blend for 6 months. In the future, they may also try running trains on B100 or pure biodiesel.
• Biofuel boondoggle: US subsidy aids Europe's drivers, 8 June 2007 from Yahoo news. In the United States, a $1 tax credit for companies that blend biodiesel with regular diesel is creating a perverse set of trading arrangements, known as "splash and dash". Pure biodiesel is imported into the US and blended with less then .01% diesel to qualify for the credit and then immediately exported to Europe where the demand and prices are higher. In some cases, European biodiesel is shipped to the US, "splashed" with diesel, and "dashed" back to the EU, undermining the global warming benefits that drive the European industry.
• The Executive Summary of the Empa (Switzerland) Report on Comparative LCAs of Biofuels (in English) is now available! The report examines the result of life-cycle analysis of both the greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts for a range of biofuels, including ethanol, methanol, biodiesel, andbiogas, made from a range of feedstocks. The report suggests that there may be trade-offs between greenhouse gas benefits and environmental impacts, mainly due to the effects of intensified agriculture.
• Biofuel gangs kill for green profits 3 June 2007 from The Times. In Colombia, paramilitaries are forcing poor farmers off their land and converting it into oil palms for biodiesel production.
• Biofuel plants generate new air, water, soil problems for Iowa, 3 June 2007 from the Des Moines Register. Iowa has begun to evaluate the environmental impacts of the rapidly expanding biofuel industry. 22 "of the 34 ethanol and biodiesel plants in operation in Iowa over the past six years have been cited by for violations to pollution laws. Many worry that the biggest threat to the environment is increased soil erosion and water pollution from intensified corn production.
• German biodiesel industry faces collapse over taxes, US subsidies, competition from the South 3 June 2007. In Germany, currently the world's largest biodiesel producer, A combination of an increase in the tax on biodiesel, export subsidies in the United States and strengthening competition from tropical countries is threatening to destroy the domestic indudstry.

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