Articles in Africa
(Research and Markets/PR Newswire) The “Biodiesel: 2017 World Market Outlook and Forecast up to 2021” report has been added to Research and Markets’ offering. The present report is an essential resource for a one looking …
by Liz Gyekye (Bioenergy Insight) The “first” pan-African expert network on food and non-food biomass has been launched by African and German researchers.
BiomassNet aims to ensure that food security and environmental sustainability are not compromised …
(Energy Today/Oilprice.com) A new World Bank report released today (July 18, 2017) highlights the potential impacts that the expected continuing boom in low-carbon energy technologies will have on demand for many minerals and metals.
Using wind, solar, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In Botswana, jatropha’s adventures are just beginning according to the Ministry of Minerals Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security’s advisor, Freddie Motlhatlhedi. He was referring to a joint research project done by …
by Anna Hirtenstein (Bloomberg) Taleveras signs joint venture with Global Green Development; First phase of biofuels project seen costing $400-$600 million — Taleveras Group, the African oil trading company, is making its first moves into renewable …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In Africa, the overwhelming use is cookstoves, and for a generation now, companies and organizations have been handing out LPG or ethanol cookstoves trying to move Africa to a new …
(Project Gaia) Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals and one of the leading providers globally of cellulosic ethanol production technology, and Project Gaia, a non-profit promoting the use of alcohol fuels (ethanol and methanol) …
(GreenAir Online) A year after issuing a joint Request for Information (RFI) from parties interested in supporting the development and production of sustainable aviation fuel in the region, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia say …
(AllAfrica) The African Climate Technology Center (ACTC) has the mission of supporting Sub-Saharan countries in scaling-up the adoption of clean technologies for adaptation and mitigation, through activities that include knowledge creation and dissemination, support to …
(RightsAndResources.org) Experts at Dakar event point to a significant cause of investment losses, work stoppages and violence across Africa: the failure of governments and companies to respect the land rights of indigenous and local communities
Sixty-three …
(Awake Africa) The Community Heroes Awards is an initiative of African Centre for Peace Building and Awake Africa Magazine which seeks to identify, celebrate and honor individuals and organizations who have committed themselves to promote …
(NexSteppe) NexSteppe, a company dedicated to pioneering the next generation of sustainable feedstock solutions for biobased industries, announced today that the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has approved four NexSteppe sorghum hybrids …
by Patrick Kent (Irish Cattle & Sheep Farmers’ Association/Euractiv) The key element of this renewable energy plan is that the ceiling for the crop biofuel component of EU transport fuels will be slashed from 7% …
by Nicola Pamplona (Folha de S.Paulo) … The idea is concentrate expenditure in operations connected to petroleum production, which have a higher potential to generate revenues.
All other operations, such as gas, energy, biofuel and the petrochemistry …
(BusinessWire/Technavio) The global biofuels market is expected grow at a CAGR of nearly 6% during the forecast period, according to Technavio’s latest report.
In this report, Technavio covers the market outlook and growth prospects of the …
(Project Gaia) Ethanol fuel production represents a significant opportunity for economic and social development in the East African Community (EAC) region. Ethanol can be produced locally using a variety of feedstocks that can be selected based on …
by Lais Thomaz* and Dan Quadros** (Advanced Biofuels USA) With diverse and dynamic programming involving agribusiness, food safety, nutrition, sustainability and bioenergy, the 2016 GAF achieved its mission to gather producers, companies and academia to discuss …
(North American Climate Smart Agricultural Alliance) Solutions from the Land (SfL) is taking an active role in the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA) summit underway this week in Rome, pressing business, government, NGO …
(Transport & Environment) … In 2014, 45% of all the palm oil used in Europe ended up in the tanks of cars and trucks, data from EU vegetable oil industry association Fediol and obtained by green …
by Gerald Kutney (Lee Consulting/Biofuels Digest) … From the time of the caveman until the early Industrial Revolution, biofuels – namely wood and the advanced biofuel of the day, charcoal – reigned supreme. Both fossil fuels and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) 64 countries have targets or mandates – but how much where, and when, and what? The bulk of mandates continue to come from the EU-27, where the Renewable Energy Directive specified …
(BioCube™) The BioCube Corporation was delighted to have The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada visit the BioCube™ at the GLOBE 2016 Conference in Vancouver last week. Held every two years in Vancouver, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In South Africa,, Chromatin and Zaad Holdings have entered into an alliance to produce and distribute planting seed for grain and forage sorghum throughout the African continent.
In Africa, sorghum is …
by Angela Charlton (Associated Press/Washington Post) Monaco’s government says it’s investigating how an alleged vast oil corruption scandal involving a Monaco-based company long went unnoticed, even though the principality has opened up its financial sector …
by Suzanne Goldenberg (The Guardian) Arpa-E project deploys drones and robots to breed fast-growing, drought-resistant and greener biofuel from sorghum which could replace corn ethanol — A US government agency is trying to build a better …
by Fiona Lambe and Marion Davis (Stockholm Environment Institute/Reuters) … The reality, of course, is that electricity will not reach all households in the immediate future – not to mention, power is so unreliable in much of …
by Shaimaa Al-Aees (Daily News Eqypt) … The ministry is working on developing the production of the Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Company (ESIIC) through the establishment of a trademark. This trademark is currently being …
by Ron Kotrba (Biodiesel Magazine) Several U.S. producers, including Genuine Bio-Fuel, Hero BX and the now-defunct Promethean Biofuels, in addition to Miami-based biodiesel exporter and hopeful technology provider Lagosur, sketch out overviews of international developments.
…
“Taxation, …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Q. How have the US elections and the regulatory situation in the US impacted development of biofuels for other countries, particularly Latin America? … Not much impact from the 2014 …
by Shelagh Whitley and Laurie van der Burg (New Climate Economy) The research underpinning this New Climate Economy Working Paper was a major input into the 2015 New Climate Economy report and articulates the practical steps …
(ePURE) … At ePURE, the association representing European ethanol producers, we believe that renewable ethanol can play an important role in decarbonising transport.
Because ethanol can be blended with petrol to run in existing engines, it is …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Who’s building what, where, now. 29 projects in construction or in commissioning in Africa, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia, and the Americas
Despite low oil prices, first-gen biofuels and advanced …
by Jarrett Renshaw and Catherine Ngai (Reuters) … North Dakota’s Bakken production peaked at 1.153 million barrels per day in June, and had fallen to 1.13 million barrels per day by August, according to state data.
The …
by Marc Gunther (Nonprofit Chronicles) … “Why exactly are we ahead with 100 million more wood burning stoves in the world? It’s an output metric and not an impact metric,” says Kevin Starr of Mulago, who …
(African Development Bank Group) The African Development Bank (AfDB) is hosting and co-organizing Energy Week, a series of events, including high-level discussions and partnerships focusing on lighting up and powering Africa, and unlocking the continent’s …
(Partnership for Clean Indoor Air) Over the last ten years, organizations like Project Gaia Inc. and its partners have been promoting clean cookstoves that are powered by ethanol, and have worked to help communities become …
by Dinfin Mulupi (How We Made It in Africa) Africa is seeing a surge in mobile phone-based solutions promising to revolutionise the agricultural industry. Technology entrepreneurs have developed mobile platforms offering a variety of solutions, …
by By Tom Schenk (Agriculture 2.0) Over the past ten years, scores of articles have been written about the merits of investing in farmland as well as the challenges of producing enough food to feed a …
by Olatomiwa Bifarin* (Advanced Biofuels USA) Around 770,000 BC, it was fire, at some point – wood, dung and coal, to the now-ominous fossil fuels. This is the evolution of energy, and today the evolution …
(SciDev.net) At least 500 million hectares are available for growing biofuel crops; This is after considering rising food demand and growing urbanisation; Only up to 200 million hectares would be needed to slash fossil fuel use
Converting grazing …
Eric Atkins (The Globe and Mail) The crash in oil prices will be felt at the farm gate as demand and prices moderate for biofuel crops corn and soybean, says a new report from the …
by Janna Farley (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Deforestation and pollution have distressed the country’s environment and beauty. The chronic effects of disease, economic instability and social unrest, coupled with the infrastructure devastation from the 2010 earthquake, …
By Tim Searchinger and Lyndon Estes (The Washington Post/Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School for Public and International Affairs) In recent years, as governments have begun to protect tropical forests because of the carbon they store, …
(Chromatin, Inc.) Chromatin, Inc., an agriculture technology company, announced today that its newly introduced hybrid sorghum seed products have achieved unprecedented yields in East Africa.
Chromatin introduced the new hybrids at a grain sorghum workshop it …
By Hilary Landfried (Project Gaia) … We rarely think of it here in the West, hooked up to electric and gas grids as we are, but nearly half of the world’s population still cooks on biomass fuels …
by Chris Woolston (Bioenergy Connection) With its crown of pink blossoms, the humble seashore mallow may look unassuming, even delicate. But when it comes to brutal environments, this seaside shrub is no pushover. Seashore Mallow …
(Renewable Fuels Association) U.S. ethanol exports reached near-record levels in 2014, sending 836 million gallons of ethanol worth $2.1 billion to international markets, the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) explained today in its new publication “2014 …
by Tom Bryan (Ethanol Producer Magazine) After halting distillers grains imports late last year, the world’s top DDGS buyer is poised to resume business, but on what terms?
The prospect of China reissuing distillers grains import …
by Amanda Peterka (E&E Publishing / Greenwire) Bioenergy production would boom and spur steep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions if a global price is slapped on carbon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers say in a …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) PANGEA is a leader in the promotion of technology transfer and investment into Africa’s growing bioeconomy, … . PANGEA in 2015 is breaking out beyond its traditional policy-oriented focus, away …
(United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) The report entitled: “The State of the Biofuels Market: Regulatory, Trade and Development Perspectives” offers a comprehensive snapshot of today’s biofuels market and how it contributes to enhancing …
(Renewable Fuels Association) Today, as the first African Sustainable Transport Forum gets under way in Nairobi, Kenya, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) called on forum attendees to adopt biofuels friendly policies and regulations that …
by Caitlin Kennedy (Biotech NOW) National Geographic’s October issue contains an in-depth article, “The Next Green Revolution” on how plant biotechnology will be one part of a multifaceted solution to feeding a rapidly growing population in the face of …
(Business Standard) Growth in 2013-18 period likely to be moderate compared to 2008-13 period as demand from the US stagnates, says the Freedonia Group report.
Asia-Pacific region, Central and South America, and the Africa/Mideast region are …
(Biotechnology Industry Organization) An international confederation of biotechnology trade associations announced today the ratification of bylaws creating the International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA), with the expressed purpose of advocating for public policies that support …
by Milsa Vijayadharan (Advanced Biofuels USA) Bioenergy is considered to be an important source of energy for the next decades for several reasons. Most important reasons are: bioenergy can contribute to the reduction of CO2, …
(Boeing) Collaboration with Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials supports greater market access for “smallhold” farms
Boeing [NYSE:BA] is launching an initiative with South African Airways (SAA) and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) to expand opportunities for “smallhold” …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, the Digest today releases its annual review of biofuels mandates and targets around the world, looking at the state of biofuels mandates in 62 countries.
The bulk of mandates …
(China New Energy) The Board of CNE (AIM:CNEL), the AIM quoted engineering and technology solutions provider to the bioenergy sector, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an contract with Jilin Province New …
Excerpts from a November 10, 2013, letter from 74 African organizations to US President Barack Obama.
Dear President Obama,
We are African organizations working for the realization of a healthy and just environment for the people of …
by Whitney McFerron (Bloomberg BusinessWeek) Argentina, the world’s biggest biodiesel exporter, is increasing shipments of the fuel on stronger U.S. demand, Oil World said.
Argentine exports of biodiesel made from soybean oil will climb to 450,000 metric …
by Mary C. Scholes, Robert J. Scholes (Science Magazine) In the past, great civilizations have fallen because they failed to prevent the degradation of the soils on which they were founded (1). The modern world could suffer …
(BioenergyCrops.com) A brand new study (2013) found that the projected energy demand (2035) in developing countries, can be covered with energy crops in surplus agricultural lands, then not competing with food production. The study, from the Department …
by Rob Vierhout (ePURE/Ethanol Producer Magazine) … The “accountancy-model” IISD used was one-sided, looking only at government expenditure but leaving out of the picture the revenues the industry is generating for government and society. A well-respected …
(Netzwerk Biotriebstoffe) The ERA-ARD project “Bioenergy in Africa: Opportunities and Risks of Jatropha and Related Crops” was officially closed at the end of March 2013. Within this project the coordinator published 5 Policy Briefs with …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Miscanthus, sorghum, switchgrass, jatropha, camelina, carinata, and arundo. Who’s doing what to bring these crops to scale — and who are the potential big winners?
… Just when you start feeling great …
(EurekAlert/World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)) The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have launched the IFAD-ICRAF Programme for the Development of Alternative Biofuel Crops, an initiative focused on providing clean …
by Makhtar Diop (AllAfrica) Few development challenges in Africa are as pressing and controversial as land ownership and its persistent gap between rich and poor communities.
With a profound demographic shift in Africa from rural areas …
by Joel Winston (AllAfrica) Significant uncertainties about the development of algae biofuels and a lack of research and development capabilities make this potential energy source an unsuitable option for developing countries, according to researchers from …
by Richard Herbert (Biofuels Digest) Portfolios may be littered with the bones of first generation biofuels startups, but for strategic investors, the biofuels industry as a whole is far from cold in the grave. In fact, …
by Carlo Hamelinck (Euractiv.com/Ecofys) …By effectively decreasing the ambition on biofuels, as it is currently debated in the European Parliament and the Council, we walk away from concerns without solving them.
There are a few key …
by Robyn Dixon (Los Angeles Times) Foreign firms seeking land in Africa for biofuel crops run into opposition from communities and environmental activists despite promising jobs and development.
With its leaf-thatched mud huts, bad roads, chronic …
(EurekAlert!) World’s cassava experts to wage war against cassava viruses; introduction into Nigeria, the largest cassava producer in the world, could result in drastic food shortages in this part of Africa
Cassava experts are reporting new …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Belgium, PANGEA (Partners for Euro-African Green Energy) launched an update to its report “Who’s Fooling Whom? The Real Drivers Behind the 2010/11 Food Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
The report demonstrates …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Italy, Versalis and Genomatica announced the establishment of a technology joint venture for bio-based butadiene from non-food biomass. The resulting process will be licensed across Europe, Asia and Africa by …
by Louise Downing (Bloomberg) SG Biofuels Inc., the green fuel biotech company working with Airbus SAS, is seeking a partner in Southeast Asia or Africa and expects to complete a cooperation deal within 180 days to expand its …
by Anna Simet (Biomass Magazine) There is enough land available to produce more food, more feed and more biofuels, which are not the cause of global malnutrition problems, according to the World Bioenergy Association.
WBA makes …
(SG Biofuels/Biodiesel Magazine) …Through the use of new genetic technologies, SGB’s scientists have revealed that the company’s germplasm collection can be divided into a number of distinct heterotic clades, or genetically related groupings of plants. In …
by Matthew L. Wald (New York Times) A glut of ethanol in the gasoline supply is threatening to push up prices at the pump and may have exacerbated the growing cost gap between regular gasoline and …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) At World Biofuels Markets, BP CEO Phil New delivered a keynote speech which attempted to turn the industry’s attention towards “the hard yards” of operational excellence, saying that “it is arguable …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the Netherlands, PANGEA (Partners for Euro African Green Energy) is launching today a booklet outlining Myths and Facts about Bioenergy in Africa. The brochure is intended to demystify the …
(RSB Services) The RSB Services Foundation, the implementing entity of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels (RSB) which has developed a global sustainability standard and certification system for biofuel production, is pleased to announce that Addax …
by By Brian Bienkowsk (Environmental Health News) As a growing population stresses the world’s food and water supplies, corporations and investors in wealthy countries are buying up foreign farmland and the freshwater perks that come with …
(VayuGrid/PR NewsWire) EEP-SEA Selects VayuSap™ Among 168 Other Projects for a Grant of Over $1 Million
India-based VayuGrid and Zambia-based BetterWorld Energy have inked an agreement to partner on VayuSap™ biofuel development zones in Zambia. The development zones, based …
(ActionAid) At a seminar on biofuels in Dublin yesterday, David Barissa, a leading expert on food security and land rights from ActionAid Kenya spoke of the litany of broken promises, rights violations and destruction which …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the new USDA long-term forecasts, rising global meat consumption stands out as a driver of rising food prices, exports.
…But you might ask yourself — in a world where you …
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 …
by Mohammad Shoeb (The Peninsula Qatar) Qatar has launched a novel pilot project, ‘Sahara Forest’ in collaboration with a Norwegian company, which will help produce food crops (such as tomatoes, cucumber, melon), fodder crops, freshwater, …
by Mackinnon Lawrence (Biofuels Digest/Pike Research) There are few topics that get the clean technology sector excited less than trash. Meanwhile, the news is littered with stories discussing municipal areas from Zimbabwe to Los Angeles and …
by Jennifer Alsever (CNN Money) … While most of its rivals raced to commercialize the fuel, San Diego-based SG Biofuels took a different path: It hired plant geneticists. They hunkered down in the laboratory to come up …
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 …
“Into Africa- Building Local Markets, Improving Farm Productivity & Increasing ROI”
“ Key highlights
Climate change and the impact on global agriculture market
Investment opportunities & land utilization in Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Liberia …
by Olivier De Schutter (The Guardian) …The new starting point should be to put food security first. Globally, 25% of land is already degraded, and the remaining productive areas are subject to ever-greater competition from industrial …
by Brian Winter (Reuters/Chicago Tribune) After years at each other’s throats, Brazil and the United States are working together to promote the use of ethanol in a collaboration that could revolutionize global markets and the makeup of …
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 – …
Presentation by Helena Chum (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) US led by its State Department, and Brazil led by Department of Energy of the Ministry of Foreign Relations, have entered into an MOU to advance cooperation …
(Pangea) Partners for Euro-African Green Energy (PANGEA) published a new report, Africa’s Water-Bioenergy Nexus. Ensuring Sustainable Water Management in Africa’s Biofuel Sector. The report describes ways to ensure a low water footprint in the African …
(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 …
by David Cronin (New Europe Online) …The production of biofuels is a central factor behind the grabbing of land in Africa. Yet rather than using food crops, many of the players in this murky game …
(Environmental Expert) The winner of the World Bioenergy Award 2012 was announced on 29 May in Jönköping Sweden: Mr. Harry Stokes, USA.
Mr. Harry Stokes has developed, funded and managed Project Gaia to improve the health, economic status …
by David Muwanga (AllAfrica.com) As the East African Community (EAC) was planning to release a total of Ksh1b for the removal of the water hyacinth from Lake Victoria, a United States based technology company has …
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) …It doesn’t take a casual observer very long to see the China’s activity in industrial biotechnology accelerating, as more and more technologies develop there, or transfer there via JVs or …
(Global Renewable Fuels Association/Cardno ENTRIX) …As is the case with virtually all other emerging and developing countries, biofuels offer the prospects of a new cash crop for farmers, increased employment in rural areas, expanded manufacturing output, reduced …
by Greg Breining (University of Minnesota/Bioenergy Connection) …Did demand for biofuel feedstocks, such as corn, sugarcane, rapeseed, and soybeans, drive the high cost of food? Many analysts later pinned most of the blame on commodities …
(JOil) • Tamil Nadu sites achieve first-year flowering in three months and first harvest in five months
• Field trials now being conducted in India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia
JOil (S) Pte. Ltd., a scientific bioenergy …
(Project Gaia) Nigerian Government Agency Launches Microdistillery and Stoves to Provide Sustainable Ethanol Fuel for Household Cooking, Lighting and Small-Scale Power Generation
The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), a parastatal under the Nigerian Federal Ministry of …
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“Reviving the Palm Oil Industry in Africa – Challenges & Opportunities”
Key Highlights
Financing & Investment Prospects
Land regulations, labour laws, logistics & infrastructure support
Applying large-scale cultivation expertise from Asia & opportunities for downstream processing
R & D on improved planting …
(Netzwerk Biotreibstoffe) As a potential substitute for fossil fuels, wood energy can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. FAO’s programme on wood energy promotes sustainable wood energy systems as a contribution to sustainable forest management, livelihoods …
by Damian Carrington (Government Online) For the first time in a decade, the vast biofuel industry has stalled. But with crude prices still high, charting a course towards biofuels that do more good than harm is …
(Reuters/VIASPACE) VIASPACE Executive Highlights Giant King Grass Advancement & Commercial Opportunities in Africa to Generate Electricity, Manufacture Energy Pellets and Produce Bio-Fuels: Presents at the Biomass West & Central Africa Congress in Ghana
VIASPACE, Inc., a clean …
by Rick Westhead (The Star) …Indian industrialist Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi has his eye on this lush scenery, too, but he sees something much different: the potential for large-scale commercial farming.
Karuturi, from the South Indian city …
(Project Gaia) Project Gaia, Inc., a U.S. non profit with operations in East Africa, is working with the UNHCR and others to bring relief to refugees from the Horn of Africa Famine in a very …
by Erin Voegele (Biodiesel Magazine) The African CleanTech Association launched Oct. 24 and, according to ACTA spokeswoman Suza Adam, the primary goal of the group is to assist in the development of African enterprises and …
(Alternative Energy Africa) Foreign firms are increasing their interest in the biofuel sector resulting in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) being urged to implement policy and legal mechanisms to foster responsible investments.
The World Wild …
(Reuters) A European Union target to promote the use of biofuels will accelerate global species loss because it encourages the conversion of pasture, savanna and forests into new cropland, EU scientists have warned.
…The scale of …
(Netzwerk Biotriebstoffe News) Biofuel production is booming. Worldwide, production of ethanol for fuel has almost quintupled since 2000, while that of biodiesel has risen by almost 25 times. This is, in part, a response to policies …
by John C.K. Daly (OilPrice.com/Clean Techies) …According to PetroChina’s Petrochemical Research Institute deputy chief engineer Fu Xingguo, China is looking at generating 933,000 tons annually of fuel ethanol and 165,000 tons of biodiesel.
According to …
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 …
by Sulaimon Salau (The Guardian Nigeria) Renewable energy projects in West African sub-region are set for a new shift, as a Nigerian energy firm, Global Biofuels (in alliance with some Chinese and African firms) …
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 …
(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 …
(Nature: International Weekly Journal of Science) Biofuels have big boots to fill. After more than 150 years of using petroleum and its products we have become dependent on it. First generation biofuels are showing us …
(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 …
Biofuels in Africa: When it comes to clean energy production, Africa is at a crossroads. The production of industrial biofuels has the potential to be a boon for producers and could potentially sow the seeds …
by Damian Carrington and Stefano Valentino (The Guardian) British firms have acquired more land in Africa for controversial biofuel plantations than companies from any other country, a Guardian investigation has revealed.
Half of the 3.2m hectares (ha) …
(AllAfrica.com) Jatropha should not replace any crops in arable farms and instead should be cultivated by smallholder farmers as hedges for farms, an expert has warned.
Pamoja Inc Co-Director Jonathan Otto said in Dar es Salaam …
by William McLennan (The Ecologist) Campaigners are outraged over airline Lufthansa and German government funding for jatropha biofuels trial
The German government is financing a leading European airline’s biofuel trials despite claims from environmental groups it …
(IITA) As the world grapples with the challenge of feeding an ever growing population in the face of dwindling natural resources confounded by climate change, findings from a recent research by IITA show that science-based …
(DailyMarkets/PR Newswire) Boeing and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) today announced the creation of the Sustainable Biomass Consortium, a research initiative focused on increasing collaboration between voluntary standards and regulatory requirements for biomass used …
by Bård Amundsen/Else Lie. Translation: Darren McKellep/Carol B. Eckmann(The Research Council of Norway) Jatropha has been championed as a major environmental opportunity for developing countries with a semi-arid climate and marginal soil. Scientist Karl Hilding …
by Joelle Brink (Biofuels Digest Asia) The Cancun climate summit in Mexico kicked off last week at the same time as a “Cablegate” revelation that motorists buying fossil fuels at the pump are unwittingly funding terrorism …
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 …
(International Business Times) Farmers in this iron-roof village in Sierra Leone say they didn’t know what they were getting into when they leased their land for a biofuel crop they now fear threatens their food harvests.
Addax …
by Miyuki Iiyama and James Onchieku (SciDev) It sounds too good to be true: a biofuel crop that grows on semi-arid lands and degraded soils, replaces fossil fuels in developing countries and brings huge injections of cash …
by Beatrice Philamon (IPP Media) Tanzanian and Brazilian experts are expected to carry out a countrywide survey to identify and propose strategic areas that would be allocated for biofuel farming.
“Our intention is to have special areas …
by Joseph Bonyo (Daily Nation) …The plant that is expected to produce about 22 million litres of ethanol a year will be the latest addition to the firm’s portfolio.
According to the company, the ethanol will …
by Eric Ombok (Bloomberg) Mumias Sugar Co., Kenya’s largest producer of the sweetener, secured a 1.6 billion-shilling ($20 million) loan for its ethanol plant to be commissioned next year, the Daily Nation reported. A group …
(Friends of the Earth International) The African continent is increasingly being seen as a source of agricultural land and natural resources for the rest of the world. National governments and private companies are obtaining access …
(Nehanda Radio) …Zimbabwe Reporter said Al-Saadi Al-Gaddafi was negotiating with Zimbabwean officials on the feasibility of establishing an ethanol-powered fuel plant in the country’s Masvingo Province.
…The sugar was previously produced by Triangle Limited… READ MORE
by Thompson Ayodele (Initiative for Public Policy Analysis) Forward by Dr. Matthew O. Eshalomi: Growth and prosperity of an economy are central to the longterm reduction in poverty for both economic and environmental sustainability. Palm oil …
by Opheera McDoom (Reuters) Sudan has secured funding for a new 140,000 tonne sugar factory which will also produce 30 million litres of ethanol by November 2014, in the latest step to gear the African nation’s …
by Katie Allen (The Guardian) It is not too late for equitable partnerships to flourish between foreign investors and local communities
…Sadly for anyone who happens to live on that farmland there are countless examples of …
by Katie Allen (The Guardian) Leaked report says wealthy investors are threatening local resources as they buy up farmland to gain on commodity prices
A leaked World Bank report into investors from rich nations buying up …
(EurekAlert) Policies needed to address potential conflicts, but report views bioenergy as crucial to ‘unlocking Africa’s latent potential’.
Crops can be produced for bioenergy on a significant scale in west, eastern and southern Africa without doing …
by Andrew Willis (Bloomberg Businessweek) EU and Brazilian leaders are set to announce a new “triangular co-operation” initiative, under which they will aim to work together in some of the world’s poorest countries, but NGOs say …
(China Economic Net) A huge potential for producing biofuels is expected in Tanzania without hampering the cultivation of food crops, according to a new study.
Conducted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently, the …
(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 …
(Environment-Expert.com) VEPOWER Limited has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Jatropha Africa with the goal of financing the Company’s 50,000 hectare plantation in Ghana, West Africa. VEPOWER will thus secure more than 40,000 tonnes of …
by Lorraine Mandebvu (All Africa) Traditional leaders have embraced the US$600 million Chisumbanje ethanol project which they believe will bring much-needed development to the area.
Speaking at a meeting of traditional leaders with Arda officials last weekend, Chief …
by Michael Dynes (The New Economy) Of the billions of dollars that have been ploughed into the biofuel sector around the world over the past decade, only a tiny fraction has ever found its way …
