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April 17, 2012 – 10:42 am | No Comment

Advanced Biofuels are high-energy liquid transportation fuels derived from: low nutrient input/high per acre yield crops; agricultural or forestry waste; or other sustainable biomass feedstocks including algae.  The key word is “sustainable.”
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Articles in South Africa

Eccotopia to Sign Joint Venture Agreement
May 10, 2013 – 6:31 pm | No Comment

(SB Wire/Eccotopia)  Julian Moses, president of Symphony Trade and Investment 57 (Pty) Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Eccotopia Ltd.,http://www.eccotopia.com/, has announced that  Eccotopia and Pacific Tree West are in the process of signing a …

Biofuels Given a New Lease on Life
April 9, 2013 – 11:54 am | No Comment

by Andre Janse van Vuuren (City Press/Fin24)  Dormant plans to establish a local biofuel sector – earmarked to create up to 50 000 jobs and save the country at least R8.9bn in foreign exchange payments …

International Regulation of Microorganisms for Biofuel or Chemical Production: North and South America and Africa
March 19, 2013 – 6:32 pm | No Comment

by David Glass (DGlassAssociates.com)  … The use of genetically modified microorganisms (GMOs) in manufacturing will likely face a fairly straightforward regulatory process in most countries, because such “contained” uses will generally pose far fewer hypothetical …

Bali Biofuel Plant Will Save Lives
March 6, 2013 – 5:22 pm | No Comment

(This Is Gloucestershire) Green Fuels of Stonehouse has installed the first ever biodiesel plant on Bali.  The move is helping the Indonesian island to avert a growing environmental and health crisis.
The FuelMatic GSX 3 plant …

Carbon Tax from 2015, as New Biofuels Incentive Is Unveiled
March 6, 2013 – 2:52 pm | No Comment

by Terence Creamer   (Polity.org.za)  The South African government has confirmed that a carbon tax will be phased in from January 1, 2015, as part of South Africa’s efforts to mitigate the effects of climate …

Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and Management: Creating Shared Value through Collaborative Sustainable Development May 6-10, 2013 Cape Town, South Africa
February 26, 2013 – 3:51 pm | No Comment
Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and Management: Creating Shared Value through Collaborative Sustainable Development    May 6-10, 2013   Cape Town, South Africa

The essential course to prepare professionals to work in the expanding field of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development
McGill University’s Institute for the Study of International Development and the law firm of Fasken Martineau are …

Sugarcane Fibre Could Boost Biofuel Development – Study
February 21, 2013 – 3:33 pm | No Comment

by Natasha Odendaal  (Creamer Media’s Engineering News)  A doctorate study undertaken by Stellenbosch University Department of Process Engineering student Yuda Benjamin has found that the fibres of some varieties of sugarcane had the potential to boost the production …

First Biodiesel Plant in Bali, Indonesia, Undergoes Commissioning
January 25, 2013 – 4:55 pm | No Comment

(Green Fuels/Biodiesel Magazine)  The biorefinery manufacturer Green Fuels is in Bali this week commissioning a turnkey biodiesel facility for Caritas Switzerland, an NGO that focuses on socioeconomic development in disadvantaged communities around the world. Green Fuels …

Workshop on Sustainable Biomass Production in South-East Africa March 19-21, 2013 Maputo, Mozambique
January 25, 2013 – 4:45 pm | No Comment
Workshop on Sustainable Biomass Production in South-East Africa    March 19-21, 2013    Maputo, Mozambique

The workshop is organised by NL Agency with the support of WIP Renewable Energies. The objective is to discuss and share experiences on current initiatives for the development of sound frameworks for bioenergy in African …

South Africa – Sugar Companies Waiting for Biofuel Policy Move
December 21, 2012 – 4:44 pm | No Comment

(Agra-Net.com)  South Africa’s sugar companies and the planners of two sorghum-based ethanol plants are anxiously awaiting the government’s next move to allow a biofuels industry through the publication of the regulated price of ethanol, said …

Biofuels Mandates Around the World: 2012
November 28, 2012 – 6:26 pm | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  Brazil, India, the US, China and the EU point the way towards a 60 billion gallon biofuels market by 2022 – but can the capacity be built, and can the …

Gas-to-Liquids: A Risky Investment?
November 18, 2012 – 3:24 pm | No Comment

by Robert Rapier (Biofuels Digest)   …Oxford Catalysts claims that with natural gas at $3.89 per million BTU (MMBTU), they can produce diesel for $1.57 per gallon. But I would caution investors in this situation.
Without …

The GM Tree Plantations Bred to Satisfy the World’s Energy Needs
November 16, 2012 – 10:17 am | No Comment

by John Vidal (The Guardian)  Israeli biotech firm says its modified eucalyptus trees can displace the fossil fuel industry
It’s a timber company’s dream but a horrific industrial vision for others: massive plantations of densely planted GM eucalyptus …

Biofuels Mandates Around the World – Who Is Moving the Targets?
October 25, 2012 – 11:24 am | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … United States   Concerns over the price impacts of a devastating US drought have led to call for a waiver in the US Renewable Fuel Standard volumetric targets. Proposed waivers have …

Global 2012 Corn Crop To Be Second Largest in History: OECD Official’s Comment on Biofuels Misguided
September 21, 2012 – 10:19 am | No Comment

(Global Renewable Fuels Alliance)  Today (September 20, 2012) the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) criticized OECD senior counsellor, Carmel Cahill, for making unsubstantiated comments targeting the role of biofuels mandates in food price inflation. Evidence …

Food Crises and Technological Phobia
September 7, 2012 – 4:36 pm | No Comment

by Drew Kershen (BioFortified)  …I do not write to enter the debate focused on fuel standards, markets and commodity speculators.   I acknowledge that other factors also contribute to food crises, particularly in developing nations – …

Southern Africa Development Community Countries Meet on Algae Development
August 10, 2012 – 9:40 am | No Comment

(Algae Industry Magazine)  Leaders of the 14-member Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) came together at the St. George Hotel in Pretoria, South Africa, July 24-27, for a workshop on emerging technologies for sustainable biofuels and …

South African Airways Aims for 50 per cent Biofuel by 2020
August 2, 2012 – 10:39 am | No Comment

by Kamalpreet Badasha (SupplyManagement.com)  State-owned South African Airways (SAA) aims to decrease its carbon footprint by using biofuel for 50 per cent of its fuel supply by 2020.
The announcement was made by public enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba …

South Africa Looks to Develop Aviation Biofuels Supply Chain in Response to Vulnerability over Carbon Taxes and Penalties
July 27, 2012 – 4:08 pm | No Comment

(GreenAirOnline)   As part of policy objectives to reduce carbon emissions by state-owned companies (SOCs) and stimulate a green economy, the South African government is planning a strategy to help develop a home-grown aviation biofuels industry …

Viridis Africa October 16-17, 2012 Johannesburg, South Africa
July 3, 2012 – 6:30 pm | No Comment
Viridis Africa October 16-17, 2012 Johannesburg, South Africa

Viridis Africa, the only clean energy investor event in Africa that will take place on the 16th and 17th of October 2012 at the Killarney Country Club, Lower Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event is dedicated to entrepreneurs and corporates …

Request for Proposals: Viridis Africa October 16-17, 2012 Johannesburg, South Africa DEADLINE: August 30, 2012
July 3, 2012 – 6:24 pm | No Comment
Request for Proposals: Viridis Africa  October 16-17, 2012   Johannesburg, South Africa  DEADLINE: August 30, 2012

Viridis Africa, the only clean energy investor event in Africa that will take place on the 16th and 17th of October 2012 at the Killarney Country Club, Lower Houghton, Johannesburg, South Africa.
The event is dedicated to entrepreneurs and corporates …

Biofuels: Better for Airplanes, Too?
June 14, 2012 – 12:18 pm | No Comment

by Margaret Ryan (AOLEnergy)  Biofuels could be a “game changer” for both military and commercial aviation, says Assistant Secretary of the Air Force Terry Yonkers, because they’re proving to have advantages over petroleum-based jet fuels that go beyond …

Aviation Biofuels: Which Airlines Are Doing What, with Whom?
June 5, 2012 – 12:03 pm | No Comment

by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest)  …(M)ore than 30 airlines now trialing, deploying biofuels – but who’s doing what, exactly?
In Brazil, Azul Airlines announced that Amyris’s innovative renewable jet fuel sourced from Brazilian sugarcane has passed all required testing …

Government Drags Feet on Biofuel Project
March 28, 2012 – 2:55 pm | No Comment

(Business Day) State wants industry to source feedstock from small-scale farmers, writes Hopewell Radebe
The government has not moved an inch on the proposal by the farming community to include maize as an alternative crop for …

S.Africa Sees $258 mln Ethanol Plant by 2014
February 22, 2012 – 1:28 pm | No Comment

by Wendell Roelf  (Reuters Africa)  South Africa plans to invest 2 billion rand ($258.5 million) to build an ethanol plant and help a nascent biofuels sector that could reduce the country’s reliance on imported fuel, …

South Africa Company to Invest E3bn in Local Ethanol Project
January 26, 2012 – 10:30 am | No Comment

by Nomthandazo Nkambule  (The Swazi Observer)  A South African based company will invest about E3 billion in an ethanol project to be established along the Siphofaneni/Lavumisa corridor
Minister of Agriculture Clement Dlamini said the company, FuelEthanol and Agricultural Plantation, completed …

S. African Biofuel Plan May Boost Sorghum Sixfold, Grain Says
December 14, 2011 – 9:45 am | No Comment

by Carli Lourens (Bloomberg) South Africa’s proposed mandatory blending of biofuels with gasoline and diesel may signal the start of a biofuels industry and boost sorghum output sixfold, an economist at the farmers’ body Grain SA …

As Government Talks Strike Out, Business Steps up to Bat
December 9, 2011 – 2:47 pm | No Comment

by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia)  This week, while the world’s biofuel producers were busy ramping up production towards the 54.1 billion gallon global capacity predicted by 2015, the people who regulate biofuels and make …

South African Airways Mulls Big Biofuels Shift in Bid to Avoid Possible Carbon Penalties
November 28, 2011 – 11:59 am | No Comment

by Terence Creamer (Engineering News)   Biofuels may need to comprise as much as half of South African Airways’ (SAA’s) fuel supply by 2020 if the national carrier is to avoid future carbon penalties, Public …

South Africa: Govt Sign Accord to Inject Billions Into Green Economy
November 18, 2011 – 11:57 am | No Comment

(All Africa)  On the eve of a major International Climate Change Conference to be hosted by South Africa, social partners and government signed a Green Economy Accord at parliament in Cape Town today (November 17, …

Tongaat Sees Big Potential for Jobs in Ethanol and Power Projects
November 15, 2011 – 10:05 am | No Comment

by Brindaveni Naidoo (Engineering News)  Electricity generation and ethanol production from sugarcane could save and create thousands of local jobs, mainly in rural areas, agriculture and property group Tongaat Hulett CEO Peter Staude said on Monday.
… …

South African Project Reaching for Ethanol, Biodiesel Co-Location
October 28, 2011 – 9:31 am | No Comment

by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine)  One World Clean Energy Inc. has secured its first memorandum of understanding to construct and commission a $115 million Integrated Biorefinery in South Africa, where it would produce10 megawatts …

South Africa’s Bio-Economy ‘Stymied by Government Policy’
September 16, 2011 – 7:49 am | No Comment

by Sarah Wild  (Business Day)  Biofuels Association president Andrew Makenete says SA has the technology and resources to develop its bio-economy but was stymied by a lack of regulations and government policy
SA HAD the technology …

Assessing Opportunities and Constraints for Biofuel Development in Sub-Saharan Africa
August 29, 2011 – 8:57 am | No Comment

by Graham von Maltitz, William Stafford    (Center for International Forestry Research)    Sustainable biofuel production should provide opportunities for sub-Saharan African countries and their inhabitants, especially in impoverished rural areas. Biofuel feedstock production has the …

South Africa Should Step up Its Biofuels Efforts – Toyota
August 26, 2011 – 1:37 pm | No Comment

by Loni Prinsloo   (Engineering News)  South Africa should step up its efforts to introduce biofuels into its fuel supply mix, Toyota South Africa CEO Dr Johan van Zyl said on Thursday.
Speaking at the 2011 South …

Plans for ‘Tree of Life’ Plantation
August 22, 2011 – 9:02 am | No Comment

by Laea Medley (Independent Online)  …The iLembe District Municipality and Dr Samson Tesfay, a post-doctoral student at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s discipline of horticultural science, are planning a plantation project for the plant.
The project …

Ethanol, Sugar Mill-Power Rules Could Create Jobs, Tongaat-Hulett CEO Says
August 2, 2011 – 1:54 pm | No Comment

by Niki Moore (Bloomberg)  Southern African countries could create 1.8 million jobs if they adopted similar regulations to Brazil governing the production of ethanol and electricity from sugar, the Chief Executive Officer of Tongaat-Hulett Group Ltd. …

Illovo Sugar Plans to Produce Ethanol From Molasses in Tanzania by 2013
July 20, 2011 – 10:02 am | No Comment

by Niki Moore (Bloomberg)  Illovo Sugar Ltd. (ILV), Africa’s largest producer of the sweetener, plans to start making potable ethanol from molasses in Tanzania by 2013, Managing Director Graham Clark said.
“We have created an opportunity in …

Food Security Not Necessarily Threatened By Biofuels
July 18, 2011 – 8:33 am | No Comment

(Rainharvest)  To achieve “win-win outcomes” for bio-energy, food security and poverty reduction, we must recognise that these outcomes are possible.
This is what Prof Lee Lynd, of Dartmouth College and the Mascoma Corporation, told delegates during …

Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference 2011 September 6-7 Johannesburg, South Africa
July 7, 2011 – 7:30 am | No Comment
Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference 2011   September 6-7    Johannesburg, South Africa

ABIC is an essential annual event for industry leaders, investors, policy makers, scientists, researchers and other professionals working in the area of agricultural biotechnology. ABIC provides a unique forum where the latest scientific advances in …

Addax Bioenergy Signs Loan Agreement for €258 Million Renewable Energy Project in Sierra Leone
June 27, 2011 – 3:35 pm | No Comment

(Business Wire)  Addax Bioenergy S.A. (“Addax Bioenergy”), a subsidiary of the Swiss-based energy group, The Addax and Oryx Group Limited (AOG), announced today the signing of a loan agreement with seven European and African development …

Eucalyptus Tree Genome Deciphered
May 20, 2011 – 6:55 am | No Comment

(EurekAlert!)  Key to new possibilities for renewable bioproducts
The key to the survival of forestry in South Africa as well as many new possibilities for renewable bioproducts like biofuels and biopolymers may now be available with …

AGZAM to Invest $251M in Sugar, Ethanol in South Africa
April 7, 2011 – 12:29 pm | No Comment

by Nicholas Bariyo  (Dow Jones Newswires)  South Africa-based AGZAM Project Developers Ltd. is planning to invest at least $251 million to develop a sugar plant and at least 15,000 hectares of sugar plantations in Zambia’s southern …

S.Africa’s Illovo Says May Opt to Produce Biofuels
March 29, 2011 – 11:31 am | No Comment

by Ruona Agbroko   (Reuters Africa)    South Africa’s Illovo Sugar may opt to produce biofuel from sugarcane if it makes commercial sense, its managing director said late on Wednesday.
South Africa’s Department of Energy said earlier …

Maize Farmers Lobby to Supply Biofuel Industry
March 14, 2011 – 7:56 am | No Comment

by Stephanie Nieuwoudt  (Interpress Service News Agency)  South African maize farmers are pushing hard to change a government decision to exclude their crops as feedstock for bioethanol, in view of food security concerns.
Shortly after the government …

Brazil Eyes out South Africa for Biofuels Growth
December 8, 2010 – 2:02 pm | No Comment

by Nickolaus Bauer  (Business Day)   According to visiting deputy minister for foreign trade, Brazil also wants to strengthen overall trade relations with South Africa
Brazil says its interested in buying agricultural land in Southern Africa to …

Inclusion of Maize in Biofuels Strategy Condemned
November 1, 2010 – 7:39 am | No Comment

(The Bioenergy Site)  The African Center for Biosafety (ACB) has issued a statement to express concerns over the possibility of the inclusion of maize in a revision of South Africa’s biofuels policy.
ACB was prompted into action …

South Africa Could Face Blackouts again Next Year: MaNoa
October 19, 2010 – 3:14 pm | No Comment

(Times Live) … She (MaNoa director Esmé Bluff) says although it’s not feasible for everyone, first prize is to get off the grid as much as possible – which is not as expensive or tricky as it …

First General Aviation Engine Powers Light Aircraft with Biofuel
September 17, 2010 – 6:26 am | No Comment

by Natasha Odendaal (Engineering News)  Local general aviation company Adept Airmotive has developed the first general aviation engine that is able to power a light aircraft with a range of environment-friendly alternative fuels, such as biofuels …

China May Absorb South Africa’s Grain Surplus – Agriculture Ministry
September 9, 2010 – 9:02 am | No Comment

by Hopewell Radebe (Business Day/Reuters) The government yesterday brought hope to grain farmers who are struggling to find alternative markets to dispose of surplus maize following a bumper crop that drove prices down.
… Last month, Grain SA chairman …

New Biofuel Company Brings US Tech to South Africa
July 14, 2010 – 10:45 am | No Comment

(Alternative Energy Africa)  Stellenbosch Biomass Technologies (SBMT) has been officially launched in Sandton, South Africa holding the rights to commercialize and adapt the latest conversion technology developed by US-based Mascoma Technologies.
Mascoma is rated one of the …

Durban Company Flies High on Biofuel
May 18, 2010 – 5:15 pm | No Comment

(Times Live)  A Durban company has unveiled a light aircraft engine which can operate on biofuel or liquid petroleum gas.
“Our technology benchmarks South Africa against the finest aviation engineering in the world,” said Andre Schoeman, chairman …