The report “Contribution of Biofuels to the Global Economy”, published by the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, reveals that in 2010 the global biofuels industry contributed 213 billion euro(1) to the global economy, increased global GDP by 0.4% and supported 1.4 million jobs in all sectors.

“This report shows that the biofuels industry is contributing substantially to the global public good. As global biofuels production increases, the economic benefits of biofuels are being further maximised”, said Mr. Rob Vierhout, Secretary-General of ePURE.

The report highlights that ethanol production sustained nearly 70,000 jobs in Europe in 2010, and this could rise to about 190,000 jobs in 2020. Currently in 2012, with more ethanol production plants having been constructed in Europe during the past 2 years, the sector supports 100,000 direct and indirect jobs(2), mainly in the agricultural sector.  READ MORE   Download Study

Thanks to the UPS Foundation, all services provided by the Environmental Internship Clearinghouse are 100% free.

Looking for a summer internship? Visit http://environmentalinterns.org to look through over 100 internships (and counting!) already uploaded to the platform. You can apply directly through the clearinghouse portal.

Need a talented, passionate and energetic intern? You can post internship opportunities today at http://environmentalinterns.org!

The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the scientific basis for environmental decision-making by bridging the gap between science and policy to catalyze solutions.  The Council connects diverse communities and links scientific knowledge to the decision-making process.  For more information on NCSE, please visit  www.ncseonline.org.    READ MORE and MORE

Yet about four years ago, the Scientific and Technological Research Institute (IRST) successfully tested a bus running on locally made biodiesel. They also set up a production facility, which today has a daily capacity of 2000 liters processed from 1840 kg of palm oil, which is imported from the DR Congo. However, the institute also conducted research showing that plants such as jatropha and moringa could be grown in the country to produce biodiesel.

Dr. Jean Baptiste Nduwayezu, the IRST director general, explains that all this was done just to show that such a project is feasible but that it is not the role of a research institute to venture into mass production. That, he says, should be up to the private sector.

…The institute had also drafted a project and bio-diesel policy in 2008, yet the proposal still awaits cabinet approval. According to the plan, trees grown on 225,000 ha would make Rwanda self-reliant in biodiesel by 2025, the IRST director general explains. Currently, the country’s petrol consumption stands at 205 million liters per year.

Steps had already been taken to achieve that goal. In 2009, the US-based Eco Fuel Global and the British company Eco Positive ltd signed a bio-fuel investment deal with an estimated value of US$ 250 million. In the first phase, they would have invested US$ 50 million in the establishment of a jatropha plantation of 10,000 hectares on which some 120 million trees would be grown. The biofuel would be extracted from the plants’ seeds.

According to Protais Musoni, the minister in charge of cabinet affairs, the agreement stipulated they would be producing 15 million liters of biodiesel per annum by 2014. However, the project has been delayed since the companies didn’t manage to find all the funds required. As a result, so far only 42,000 trees have been planted, while 1.6 million seedlings will be planted soon.

… The resulting biodiesel can be used in all diesel engines of vehicles made after 1995, as well as for cooking stoves and power generation.

That of course leaves the numerous petrol vehicles on Rwanda’s roads in the cold, which is why, according to the IRST boss, research in bio-ethanol is next on the list.  READ MORE

In a quid pro quo arrangement, Panama Green Fuels has agreed to transfer agronomy practices and seed technology to the school, and to work with them to ensure knowledge is current and students have access to high-quality information and data. According to Panama Green Fuels CEO Adrian Harvey, his organization is a social enterprise formed specifically to assist low-income rural communities in Panama to grow biodiesel feedstocks.  READ MORE

One segment that could change all that is cellulosic ethanol production. Both Urbanchuk and Swenson predict little significant growth in the ethanol industry until cellulosic facilities begin to come online. Urbanchuk believes any future growth in ethanol will be through the use of non-corn feedstocks. Swenson is keeping a close eye on the small number of cellulosic facilities that are expected to begin operating in Iowa in the next few years, and says their commercialization will spur substantial activity in the feedstock chain, which can be factored into future analyses. He’s willing to acknowledge cellulosic ethanol’s impact on farming economics, because whereas corn has other uses and would probably still be grown and sold by farmers, cellulosic ethanol producers are creating a market for cellulosic feedstocks, he says. Corn stover, for example, will become a new commodity with its own inputs and requirements, he says, allowing him to factor in things like increased farm productivity as a result of ethanol’s demand for the product.

Of course it will be a couple of years before anyone expects the cellulosic ethanol industry to be a factor in any state’s GDP. And while corn ethanol’s contribution is not expected to grow significantly this year, there is a chance that it could decline. By mid-February, several producers were beginning to respond to dismal crush margins by reducing ethanol output. Predicting a year’s worth of crush margins is not unlike attempting to predict a year’s worth of weather conditions, but Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, offered a word of caution for the industry’s 2012 outlook. “If the current crush margins were to continue for the next several months, you could see plants come offline and actually have production go down for the first time since the mid-′90s,” he says.  READ MORE

Acting Governor of the state, Arc. Yomi Awoniyi said this yesterday when he received in audience the Global Green Field Development Group, a consortium of firms that is in the state to establish the refinery.

He said apart from the state’s 15 percent equity share participation in the project, the government would ensure speedy processing of the land title and other infrastructure needed to ensure the smooth take off and full realization of the project.

…She (CEO of Global Greenfield Company Group, Mrs. Flowers Mary) said Kogi would lead eight other states in the country to benefit from the biodiesel refinery, Jathropha farmer association and association of organized farmers under cooperative organization, adding that they will engage farmers across the state to grow Jathropha plants, beginning with Itobe with 400 farmers and 10,000 hectares.  READ MORE

It is just common sense that if America were to produce and rely more on homegrown renewable fuels, our dependence on imported oil from tumultuous regions of the world would be lessened. This is more than just common sense, it is a fact. Since 2005, the year the first renewable fuels standard (RFS) was enacted, America has seen imported oil fall from 60 percent to 45 percent of our demand. Not coincidentally, we have seen ethanol’s share of the market grow from just around one percent to more than 10 percent today.

…It is also not coincidence that states with strong biofuel industries are faring much better than other states in the slow national economy following the recession of 2008 and 2009. America’s ethanol producers are directly responsible for employing more than 90,000 Americans. An additional 311,000 workers are employed, in part due to an expanding and evolving ethanol industry. These are jobs across all sectors of the economy—manufacturing, science, engineering, business, agriculture—and are helping hundreds of thousands of American families make ends meet. READ MORE

In Miami, the President said: “We’re making new investments in the development of gasoline and diesel and jet fuel that’s actually made from a plant-like substance — algae.  You’ve got a bunch of algae out here, right? If we can figure out how to make energy out of that, we’ll be doing all right. Believe it or not, we could replace up to 17 percent of the oil we import for transportation with this fuel that we can grow right here in the United States.  And that means greater energy security.  That means lower costs.  It means more jobs.  It means a stronger economy.”

…Through ARPA-E, the Energy Department will make $14 million available to support research and development into biofuels from algae …   The Department is currently supporting more than 30 algae-based biofuels projects, representing $85 million in total investments.

…Specifically, the new projects will establish and operate research “test beds” for algal biofuels that can facilitate development, test new approaches to algae production, and discover innovative ways to minimize the water and nutrients needed to mass produce algae for commercial biofuels.   … A copy of the full funding announcement can be downloaded here.

…A friend of the Digest writes: One topic worth discussion as the USDA’s BioPreferred [and other programs] are rolled out is the use of fossil carbon. For example, the use of waste CO2. What if the CO2 comes from a coal burning power plant? This is a great use of the CO2, perhaps better than sequestering it underground, but would the resulting succinate be biopreferred? What if a company like Proterro makes sugar from coal plant CO2?  Can that sugar be used for biobased materials?  My concern is that the program may hinder the types of novel innovation we need to creatively and effectively deal with waste CO2 and to have options other that sequestration.”

READ MORE and MORE (White House) and MORE (ABC News)  and MORE (Washington Free Beacon) and MORE (OriginOil)

The record ethanol production also helped displace a record 485 million barrels of imported oil worth $49.7 billion.

… “Many of the states with significant ethanol production have weathered the economic storm of recent years far better than other states. It is not a coincidence that these states have generally lower unemployment, strong economies, and more economic opportunity – it is a direct result of thoughtful, forward-looking investment in ethanol and renewable fuel technology. As new technologies emerge and greater efficiencies are gained, the contribution of ethanol to the economy of the United States will only continue to grow.”

The report, entitled “Contribution of the ethanol industry to the economy of the United States,” was completed by CARDNO Entrix.

Key finding of the report include:

• 90,200 direct jobs

• 311,400 indirect and induced jobs

• $42.4 billion contribution to GDP

• $29.9 billion in household income

• 485 million barrels of imported oil displaced, valued at $49.7 billion

• $8.2 billion paid in federal, state and local taxes helping support local roads, schools, first responders  READ MORE   download study

…By encouraging auto companies to manufacture their fleets to run on higher blends of ethanol, we can reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, create green jobs that can’t be outsourced and keep more money here in the U.S, where it can support our domestic economy.

…Because of the stability created by the RFS, the ethanol industry supports more than 600,000 American jobs that can’t be outsourced and helps us take back some of the $300 billion a year we send to foreign economies for access to oil.  READ MORE