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(Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials) Each year RSB brings its community together for the highlight of our calendar: our Annual Meeting. An opportunity to gather our members from many different sectors to discuss and debate the most pressing issues in the development of the sustainable bioeconomy and to make changes to our
South Africa
December 14, 2018
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(Agora Verkehrswende) According to a new report, CO2 emissions from transport are still rising. If immediate action is not taken, more radical measures will be unavoidable in the future. — To keep global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius, the world’s leading economies must act immediately to reduce transport emissions.
December 11, 2018
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by Paige Müller (Creamer’s Engineering News) Despite the local sugar industry championing a bioethanol fuel subsidy as a potential method to relieve the burden on sugar through demand diversification, Ethanol Producers Association of Southern Africa secretary Alf Stevens suggests that this may not have the timely impact that the local
December 7, 2018
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by Lesetja Malope (City Press) … Thabang Mabapa is a self-confessed curious social entrepreneur who might just have a viable alternative to the country’s current fuel price crisis. He makes biofuel from castor oil extracted from castor trees and its growing demand is proving to be a disruptor in the commercial farming
December 5, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) A ‘breakthrough’ mechanical harvesting solution for castor bean plants was developed by Evogene and agricultural equipment manufacturer, Fantini s.r.l., resulting in the removal of a major bottleneck in the conversion of castor beans into a fully modernized commercial crop. With field trial yield losses decreasing significantly
November 19, 2018
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(Middleburg Observer) A gas to fuel green energy plants to the value of R1,1 billion will be built in Middelburg next year, anchoring the town as South Africa’s flagship commercial ethanol production region. … A pilot fermentation unit was shipped to South Africa, and successful fermentation tests have already been conducted.
October 24, 2018
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by Wendell Roelf (Reuters) South Africa hopes to finalise its biofuels regulatory framework by March next year, the energy minister said on Monday, almost a decade after the policy to promote biofuels like ethanol and biodiesel was first approved. A net importer of crude, Africa’s most industrialised economy wants biofuels initially
October 2, 2018
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(Biofuels International) South African recycling company Verda Waste is to build a plant that will process coffee waste into biofuel. The plant will be located in Johannesburg and is expected to be built in 2019. The company intends to lead the industrialising process of converting waste coffee grounds into biofuels. It
September 21, 2018
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by Paige Muller (Creamer Media’s Engineering News) Owing to biofuels being too expensive to manufacture, University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Business School Energy Leadership Centre director Dr Rod Crompton says this makes them a commercially unviable energy source. He tells Engineering News that, despite the fact that global renewable- energy consumption rose to a new high last year
August 17, 2018
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by Lisa Steyn (Buisness Live) Government incentives spur the JSE-listed firm to transform cow manure into natural gas at dairy farm in California — JSE-listed Montauk Energy has struck a deal with a dairy farm in California where it will for the first time transform cow manure into natural gas. The company
August 3, 2018
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by Catherine Clifford (CNBC) A bacteria found in the gut of a rabbit can now help cars run in a more eco-friendly way. The bacteria, identified by biotech start-up LanzaTech, helps turn factory carbon emissions, a.k.a. pollution, into ethanol …. … “While there are many sustainable sources of sugar-derived ethanol … it’s not enough
July 30, 2018
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by Phathu Luvhengo (Destiny Man) Social entrepreneur and biofuel producer Thabang Mabapa has stepped up to provide a viable solution to South Africa’s energy crisis Public relations and communication graduate Mabapa has stepped up to help solve the energy crisis by providing the viable solution of using castor oil as an
July 19, 2018
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by Glenneis Kriel (Farmer’s Weekly) Christo Smit, a former researcher at the Agricultural Research Council, is working on developing a sustainable biofuel industry from the diesel tree. — The South African government lost interest in biofuels when oil prices fell from about US$150 (approximately R1 780) to $40 (R474) a barrel at the
July 16, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) Syngas, or synthesis gas, is on fire lately, with new technologies making the most of waste products like CO2 or low-grade biomass and converting them into useful hot stuff like syngas that can then be turned into even better and hotter stuff like jet fuel,
July 9, 2018
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by Munyaradzi Makoni (Reuters) When a South African Airways Boeing 737 took off from O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg two years ago, headed for Cape Town, it was powered by an unusual fuel: tobacco. South Africa hasn’t yet repeated the jet biofuel feat, but in an effort to cut its
June 28, 2018
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(SKYnrg) Airlines are facing increasing pressure to become more sustainable, yet options to reduce carbon emissions in aviation are limited. Electric planes for example are not foreseen to have a significant share of passenger movements before 2040. Besides efficiency gains, through technical and operational improvements, the use of sustainable aviation fuels
May 23, 2018
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by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) With 195 countries on the planet today, an impressive 53 countries are Commonwealth countries, including countries in Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Pacific. They include large, rich countries like Canada and Australia all the way to some of the smallest or poorest countries
April 16, 2018
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by Kaleyesus Bekele (AIN Online) The Boeing Company has teamed with the South African government, South African Airways (SAA), the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and U.S. energy firm SKYNRG, to identify biofuel feed stocks in Africa. Boeing Commercial Airplanes regional director for environmental
March 22, 2018
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by Chris Ward (Daily Maverick) Support for diversification of the sugar industry provides a superb and immediate opportunity for the government of South Africa under its new president to create thousands of new jobs by leveraging sugarcane as a key strategic economic resource. … No other agricultural crop produced in South
March 15, 2018
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by Paige Mueller (Mining Weekly) Biodiesel currently does not present as a more affordable energy alternative for the local mining industry, says Sandton-based energy product supplier InnoFES MD Alexander Grobler. He says that, while many renewable-energy product producers and suppliers boast of the benefits of biodiesel application, the only realistic
March 5, 2018
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(Bioenergy Insight) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $1.14 million grant to install an innovative new sewage treatment solution to Durban, South Africa. The innovative generator is able to process sewage into nutrients, biogas and clean water. University of South Florida associate professor Dr Daniel Yeh designed his
February 27, 2018
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(Stockholm Environment Institute) This paper synthesizes the current knowledge about the impact of biofuels on ecosystem services. Biofuel feedstock production can be a significant driver of landscape modification, ecosystem change and biodiversity loss. There is a growing body of literature that shows how biofuel landscapes provide various ecosystem services (e.g., feedstock
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 said. The government’s September release of draft blending rules may be “an early indication of a
February 19, 2018
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by Veneranda Langa (News Day) Legislators yesterday grilled Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) chief executive officer Gloria Magombo over the price of Billy Rautenberg’s Green Fuel ethanol, which is 11 cents more expensive than the ethanol being produced by Triangle Limited. The ethanol pricing issue came out during a sitting of
January 24, 2018
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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 65 countries. The bulk of mandates continue to come from the EU-27, where the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) once specified a
January 2, 2018
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by Susan van Dyk, Emile van Zyl, Brett Pletschke (International Energy Agency Bioenergy Task 39) This short contribution provides some perspectives on opportunities for biofuel production on the African continent. Africa has a large land base, with only 27% of its arable land currently utilised. High level assessments, such as by the
December 22, 2017
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTech has developed a fully sustainable integrative gas to fuels and chemicals platform that has no impact on food, water security or high biodiversity land use. LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform disrupts the current highly centralized global energy system by enabling the regional production of low-cost energy
November 16, 2017
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(Next-Gen Transportation News) The mayors of London, Paris, Los Angeles, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Quito, Vancouver, Mexico City, Milan, Seattle, Auckland and Cape Town have signed the C40 Fossil-Fuel-Free Streets Declaration. Under the declaration, the city leaders have pledged to procure only zero-emission buses from 2025 and ensure that a major area of their city
October 24, 2017
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LorenzoFavaro, et al. (Bioresource Technology) Rice milling by-products are promising feedstocks for bioethanol. Starch-rich residues were efficiently fermented by two engineered amylolytic yeast. Rice husk, composed by lignocellulose, was pre-treated with alkaline peroxide. Pre-treated husk was saccharified by commercial enzymes and fermented. Multiple rice by-products were co-processed to ethanol by amylolytic
August 25, 2017
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(U.S. Trade and Development Agency) Today (August 18, 2017), the U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to Swayana (Pty) Ltd, a Pretoria-based energy project developer, for a feasibility study that will use innovative U.S. technologies to convert waste gas – also known as off-gas – into a valuable
August 23, 2017
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by Chelsea Harvey (The Washington Post) A genetically engineered, freeze-tolerant eucalyptus tree is moving closer to receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, amid concerns about the tree’s possible negative effects on the environment. The USDA has proposed lifting restrictions on commercial production of the trees, based on a draft
August 10, 2017
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(Biofuels International/Lanza Tech/Swayana) South African company, Swayana is collaborating with carbon recycling company, LanzaTech, with headquarters in Chicago USA, to introduce their proprietary carbon capture technology to South Africa. LanzaTech’s first commercial facility will be online at the end of 2017 in China, producing fuel grade ethanol from captured steelmaking off-gas. The
July 31, 2017
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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 Botswana and Japan that shows quite a bit of promise for commercial production of jatropha
July 25, 2017
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The International Biogas and Bioenergy Center of Competence IBBK is delighted to invite you to the third Biogas Training Seminar at the University of Cape Town. We invite again farmers, project developers, consultants, investors and the banking sector to participate in the biogas training seminar to be held on 11.-13.
July 23, 2017
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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 energy by setting up a joint venture to build a biorefinery in the U.S. with
June 14, 2017
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(BizCommunity) At an event held on 27 May 2017, Old Mutual Foundation, in partnership with Red Bull, announced Thabang Mabapa as the winner of their “business pitch challenge” A combined judging panel from Old Mutual and Red Bull met on 11 May to interrogate the submissions, with their key criteria
June 2, 2017
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(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) for household energy, announced the donation of approximately 24m3 of cellulosic ethanol from Clariant’s pre-commercial
May 31, 2017
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by Paul C. Samboko, Mitelo Subakanya, Cliff Dlamini (United Nations University-WIDER) The need for energy security and climate change mitigation have increased blending mandates worldwide; in Southern Africa, demand for biofuels could increase following South Africa’s planned blending mandates. However, land constraints limit local industry expansion, with demand likely to be met
April 19, 2017
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(Sunday World) From the remotest part of South Africa, in the town of Kuruman, Northern Cape, Kealeboga Hoti and her business team are producing environment friendly carbon-free biofuel. — Hoti, a biochemist, is the co-founder and owner of Lamo Fuel, a bio-diesel manufacturer that is primarily developing a variety of
April 7, 2017
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by Keith Campbell (Cramer Media/Engineering News) The South Africa Bio-energy Atlas, launched in Pretoria on Friday, will allow the country to identify opportunities for sustainable bio-energy and be able to achieve much more in terms of developing a ‘green’ economy. This was affirmed by Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor
April 5, 2017
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by Hannah Black and Sarantis Michalopoulos (EurActiv) In sectors like aviation where decarbonisation options are limited, there is a strategic advantage in encouraging the use of biofuels, a European Commission official has said. The aviation sector is dependent on liquid fuels and has few options other than biofuels when it comes to
March 23, 2017
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by Tinashe Makichi (The Herald/AllAfrica) Government has liberalised local ethanol production as the country’s sole producer, Green Fuel has constantly failed to provide adequate supplies especially during the rainy season rains. The current inadequate supplies of ethanol from Green Fuel last week forced Government to revise downwards the mandatory blending
March 13, 2017
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(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 for commercial sale in country. Approved hybrids include both Malibu sweet sorghum and Palo Alto
December 15, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In South Africa, Frost & Sullivan recognised Biogreen Diesel with the 2016 South Africa Company of the Year Award. Biogreen has risen to eminence in the biodiesel industry for pioneering a closed-loop system wherein cooking oils no longer fit for human consumption are removed from
December 12, 2016
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by John Malathronas (CNN) … Using a narrow gauge rail track built more than 100 years ago, the Wine Tram was the brainchild of avid railway fan David Blyth who modeled his green bio-diesel-fueled tram on the open-sided trams of the 1890s. … Originally established by French Huguenot colonists who fled
November 30, 2016
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Frost & Sullivan Recognises Biogreen Diesel as Top Producer of Biodiesel in the South African Market
(Frost & Sullivan/PR Newswire) Biogreen has demonstrated a strong commitment to the environment and society by actively removing harmful waste oils from the food chain — Based on its recent analysis of the biofuels market, Frost & Sullivan recognises Biogreen Diesel with the 2016 South Africa Company of the
November 29, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Whether it is partnering with COMAC to research aviation biofuels, launching a biojet program with Aeromexico and Mexico’s Airports and Auxiliary Services, or with the Port of Seattle and Alaska Airlines — or launching a Canadian aviation biofuel project using forest waste, it’s clear. Where
November 23, 2016
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by Anine Kilian (Engineering News) South African seed selection for research and development company Sunchem’s solaris crop – a nicotine-free tobacco variety that yields significant amounts of sustainable oil for biojet fuel feedstock – has started taking place locally for the first time since the launch of Project Solaris in
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In the EU, the International Energy Agency has released its Bioenergy Countries’ Report, outlining the national renewable energy targets, total primary energy supply and contribution of bioenergy. We’ve presented the information relating to EU counties, below. The complete report can be downloaded here. This report was
October 6, 2016
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by John Vidal (The Guardian) With biofuel potential limited and emissions rising, the need for industry to act is urgent. Hopes rest on a global UN carbon offset scheme to be negotiated at the ICAO summit this week – but critics remain unconvinced — When a South Africa Airways scheduled
September 30, 2016
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After the successful landing of the first biofuelled flights in South Africa – South African Airways and Mango flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town powered by biofuels made from high-energy Solaris tobacco grown in Limpopo – the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) and WWF-SA invite you to learn more about
September 11, 2016
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(Biofuels International) Boeing, South African Airways (SAA) and low-cost carrier Mango have operated Africa’s first sustainable-fuelled flights powered with tobacco-based biofuels. The SAA and Mango flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, operated by a Boeing 737-800, used sustainable biojet fuel produced from Sunchem’s nicotine-free tobacco plant Solaris, refined by AltAir
July 17, 2016
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(Viaspace/PR Newswire) VIASPACE CTO, Dr. Carl Kukkonen, made an invited presentation on Giant King Grass at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference – Feedstocks held in Miami, Florida June 6-8, 2016. The Conference, organized by Biofuels Digest (http://www.biofuelsdigest.com/), focused on the most critical issue in bioenergy today — the availability of
June 13, 2016
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by Ilan Solomons (Mining Weekly) Local green technology company G-Tech has recorded early success in its attempt to grow biofuel and other bioenergy feedstock to produce bioethanol and biodiesel as part of a mine dump rehabilitation pilot project in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg. The pilot project, on one of the
May 13, 2016
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(African News Agency/Engineering News) American and Chinese companies are set to invest R940-million in Limpopo to pursue renewable energy and ethanol profits, government and investors have announced. The United States’ Bio-Processing Innovation and the Beijing Singling Technology Centre said on Tuesday that they had discovered a market for sweet sorghum
May 12, 2016
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(Infineum International Ltd./Biodiesel Magazine) Infineum has revealed the initial results from its latest biennial global Winter Diesel Fuel Quality Survey, offering a unique update on the current trends in the industry across the global marketplace. The Infineum survey collected samples from service stations from across eight countries in order to
April 28, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In South Africa, the Energy and Environment Partnership Programme with Southern and East Africa (EEP S&EA) is seeking high-quality applications for projects in the two regions that can contribute to the reduction of poverty by promoting inclusive and job-creating green economy and by improving energy security
April 4, 2016
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by Meghan Sapp (Biofuels Digest) In Italy, IEA Bioenergy and the Global Bioenergy Partnership have published the “Examples of Positive Bioenergy and Water Relationships,” which includes examples that illustrate an encouraging variety both in terms of bioenergy systems and geographical distribution, and shows how solutions can be found that produce
February 24, 2016
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by Vikas Vij (Just Means) Canada has extensive sustainably certified forests, which it can leverage to make environmental progress in various industrial sectors. The country has long used mill and forest residues to make wood pellets that are used to generate electricity. Now it is turning its attention to the development
February 2, 2016
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Who mandates what in biofuels? 64 countries have targets or mandates — but how much where, and when, and what? 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 64
January 4, 2016
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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 that policymakers can take to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. The paper reinforces the recommendations
December 22, 2015
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(PR NewsWire) The Port of Seattle, Alaska Airlines [NYSE: ALK] and Boeing [NYSE: BA] are partnering to move toward a significant environmental goal: powering all flights by all airlines at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport with sustainable aviation biofuel. Sea-Tac is the first U.S. airport to lay out a long-term roadmap to
December 16, 2015
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by Heather Dugmore (Business Day Live) A new fuel, Coalgae, produced from a combination of waste coal dust and algae, could save SA up to 40% of its crude oil imports. Ben Zeelie and his team at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) combined coal dust with algae to form neat,
December 16, 2015
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(Biofuels International) China New Energy has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Sunbird Bioenergy Africa for the development of two biorefineries, one each in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The Memorandum of Undestanding (MOU) was signed at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) 6th Ministerial Conference and Summit in Johannesburg, South
December 10, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Switzerland, 11 leading low carbon fuel companies present a comprehensive guide that identifies a variety of available and accessible low carbon fuel solutions. … Today, only 3% of transportation fuels are low carbon. According to the International Energy Agency, 10% of fuels must be low
November 24, 2015
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(South Africa Department of Science and Technology)The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) was established in terms of the TIA Act, 2008 (Act No. 26 of 2008), with the objective to stimulate and intensify technological innovation in order to improve economic growth and the quality of life of all South Africans by
November 19, 2015
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by Bekezela Phakathi (Business Day Live) BUSES powered by biofuel and electricity are on the cards for Cape Town. The City of Cape Town’s transport authority is due to issue a tender for the procurement of electric buses in the next few months. The metro is also undertaking a research
October 26, 2015
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(Tyton BioEnergy Systems) Tyton BioEnergy Systems and Sunchem announced today a research and commercial partnership combining Tyton’s research, development and commercial capabilities with Sunchem’s Solaris tobacco variety to establish a globally significant alliance to advance tobacco-based green chemicals and biofuels. The partners are committed to introducing energy tobacco as a
October 22, 2015
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by Boyd Webb (IOL News) Once home to millions of displaced black South Africans, former homelands are expected to become the heart of the country’s biofuels production. Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Lulama Xingwana said on Tuesday the presidential commercial agricultural working group meeting held at Tuynhuys in Cape
October 19, 2015
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(Green Air Online) The South African ‘Project Solaris’ initiative that is developing an energy-rich tobacco crop for use as a feedstock for producing aviation biofuel has been awarded certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). The project, formally launched in late 2014, has involved RSB from the start so
September 30, 2015
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(70CentsAGallon.com) Biodiesel production is growing around the world and emerging markets have the most to gain from this industry. Norway, Turkey, South Africa and Greece are a few areas of the world that have begun supplementing their petroleum based diesel fuel needs with biodiesel which is derived from recycling used
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Tobacco’s been re-thought, re-engineered and re-invented as a platform for sustainable, low-carbon fuels, and green chemicals – who’s doing what, where and how? … If tobacco’s reputation has fallen into disrepute on soil sustainability and smoking application grounds (and George Washington abandoned the crop in his
September 10, 2015
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by Nomthandazo Nkambule (Swazi Observer) The Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation (RSSC) invested about E480 million (US$40 million) in 2013 on setting up a biomass power generation and ethanol plant. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) annual report 2014 themed ‘inclusive and sustainable industrialisation’ said member states initiated
September 9, 2015
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(Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials) – Project Solaris in South Africa, has earned the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB) certification for the production of the energy rich tobacco crop “Solaris” in the Limpopo region of South Africa. Solaris is a nicotine-free and GMO-free crop variety that yields significant amounts of sustainable
September 2, 2015
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by Wendell Roelf (Reuters Africa) South Africa’s biofuels funding incentive is being revamped over concerns that it is unaffordable after a halving of global crude oil prices over the past year, officials said on Tuesday. A net importer of crude, Africa’s most advanced economy wants biofuels initially to meet 2
August 11, 2015
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(Biofuels International) Blume Distillation, a biorefinery systems provider for bioethanol production, has announced the sale of its first Africa-based biorefinery. The Blume biorefinery system has been purchased by Numbitrax, based in Touwsriver, Western Cape, South Africa, which has completed a purchase agreement and fund transfer. The purchase represents an investment
August 5, 2015
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(Research and Markets/Businesswire) Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/d87gbg/next_generation) has announced the addition of the “Next Generation Biofuels” report to their offering. With the demand for fuel increasing globally, researchers around the world are working on making fuel from waste products like plastic bags, wood, and other sources. Next generation biofuels have been
GFIA Africa will assemble the world’s largest collection of sustainable agriculture innovations dedicated to improving agricultural productivity in Africa. We are looking for speakers from all disciplines including private companies, entrepreneurs, NGOs, not-for-profits, universities and research centers. Hi-tech, lo-tech, innovative ideas, science and research, if your innovation has the potential
June 12, 2015
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by Terence Creamer (Engineering News) … For Illovo, meanwhile, electricity generation forms part of a larger downstream diversification strategy, designed to lower the group’s reliance on sugar prices. Besides power, the JSE-listed group is also moving to expand its ethanol production in South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Swaziland, while producing a
May 30, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) From remarks by Antonio De Palmas — president, Boeing Italy, at the World Bioenergy Leadership Forum … Aviation is 2% of all 2010 CO2e emissions, expected to grow to 3.5% by 2030. We cannot accept the status quo, because if we don’t do something to
May 26, 2015
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Do you have a game-changing innovation for African agriculture? We are assembling Africa’s largest collection of game-changing, sustainable innovations that will help address the challenges facing African agriculture. At GFIA Africa, we will focus on transformative yet practical, scalable innovations that can increase agricultural productivity, protect and improve the natural
May 18, 2015
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by Linda Ensor (Business Day Live) … The diversification plans included using sugar cane to produce bio-ethanol and to generate renewable electricity. This would also improve the long term viability of the industry, chairman of the South African Sugar Association Rolf Lütge said in a briefing to Parliament’s trade and industry
May 14, 2015
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Countries in Africa already face semi-arid conditions that make agriculture challenging and in fertile regions, dependence on traditional farming methods means yields are far below what would be expected. GFIA Africa will assemble the people needed to effect real change and offer hundreds of solutions that can raise productivity, stop post harvest
April 20, 2015
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by Lutho Mtongana (BizNews.com) PhytoEnergy International Holding AG said it will only proceed with a plan to build a 5 billion rand ($418 million) plant to convert canola into diesel in South Africa if the government passes laws needed by the industry. The plant, which will produce 400,000 metric tons of
April 16, 2015
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by Bekezela Phakathi (Business Day Live) The Western Cape government is investigating alternative uses for cheap, low-quality wine, such as converting it into biofuel for tractors and generators as part of efforts to curb alcohol abuse. But such a move could face resistance from producers. … The conversion of wine
March 5, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … In the world of aviation biofuels, the bands and the bunting are rolling out less frequently. But mostly, because the sector has moved out of a noise-filled early R&D phase and is heading towards deployment. Someday, aviation biofuels will be as routine as topping off
February 20, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … Promoting bio fuels over mineral fuels must take precedence and this can be achieved by lobbying local government as well as national government If you could snap your fingers and change one thing about the Advanced Bioeconomy, what would you change? The incredibly slow pace
February 6, 2015
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by Keith Campbell (Engineering News) On October 19, 2004, the world’s first exclusively biofuel powered production aircraft received its certification, allowing it to be flown operationally. That aircraft was (and is) the Neiva (now Embraer) EMB-202A Ipanema crop duster. This is the most recent version of a design that first
January 16, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Who mandates what in biofuels? 64 countries have targets or mandates — but how much where, and when, and what? 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
January 5, 2015
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Aviation biofuels on the rise, in the skies” tops the trend list; drop-in and cellulosic ethanol projects; M&A and cap raises, and action from strategic investors and customers dominate the headlines this year. You might know it as EAME or EMEA, but its some combination
December 29, 2014
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(Boeing) Pioneering project supports South Africa’s rural economy, environment, public health Boeing [NYSE:BA] and South African Airways (SAA) announced today that South African farmers will soon harvest their first crop of energy-rich tobacco plants, an important step towards using the plants to make sustainable aviation biofuel. Boeing and SAA, along
December 11, 2014
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by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) An ethanol association is working hard to grow the ethanol industry in South Africa and nearby countries. Right now, an association staff member said, the industry feels very small and far behind the U.S. and other ethanol-producing areas. … Right now the majority of
October 28, 2014
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by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) The idea of wet biomass storage has yet to catch on in the cellulosic industry, despite long-term use in the pulp and paper industry. Jim Hettenhaus is a passionate advocate of wet biomass storage. … Hettenhaus has been talking about the advantages of wet
October 1, 2014
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by Marc Gunther (The Guardian) California startup NexSteppe presents a new brand of sorghum, bred for optimal energy production, designed as a greener alternative to corn for ethanol fuels and biomass boilers As scientists around the world research biomass feedstocks — trees, shrubs and grasses that are designed to produce
August 13, 2014
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by Natalie Obiko Pearson (Bloomberg/Renewable Energy World) China and Brazil are looking for ways to redirect a global climate debate, which they say unfairly accuses developing nations of delaying limits on fossil-fuel pollution. China wants to blitz attendees at United Nations-led climate talks with pamphlets touting the clean-energy gains made
August 13, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) … SkyNRG is undertaking its first major feedstock project in South Africa, featuring a nicotine-free energy tobacco crop that’s developed by Sunchem under the name of Solaris. Which is an excellent reminder of how much activity is going on in aviation biofuels to solve the
August 7, 2014
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by Eduard Gismatullin (Bloomberg) Boeing Co. (BA) and state-owned South African Airways SOC Ltd. agreed to cooperate to produce jet fuel from a new type of tobacco plant to reduce environmental pollution. The partners will use SkyNRG’s hybrid plant Solaris, which can be grown for energy crops by farmers instead
August 7, 2014
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(Reuters) Negotiators for Southern African states have agreed a new trade pact with the European Union which will give the countries a bigger market for food exports, South Africa’s trade and industry department said. … If ratified by the governments involved, the deal will allow South Africa to export 110
July 22, 2014
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RSB and friends Boeing, South African Airways, Solidaridad and PANGEA invite you to join us for RSB Southern Africa Day in Johannesburg, 4 August. This one-day Regional Meeting is open to anyone interested in learning more about the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials’ global standard and certification system for biofuels and
July 11, 2014
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by Rodrigo Orihuela (Bloomberg) Abengoa SA (ABG/P), the Spanish renewable energy company investing in biofuels, is in talks with Japanese car manufacturers and soft-drink makers to help them develop products ranging from bottles to chemicals. “All types of companies — automotive, consumers — are asking us to collaborate to develop
June 12, 2014
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by Holly Jessen (Biomass Magazine) Edmonton, Alberta-based Syngar Technologies Inc. has announced two separate joint venture projects that will, together, help make hemp-to-cellulosic ethanol a step closer to reality. Syngar Technologies, which was featured in a March 2012, article in Ethanol Producer Magazine has licensed its Pulsed Low Ultra Sound Wave (PLUSWave) Technology, which
May 22, 2014
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by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Edmonton, Alberta-based Syngar Technologies Inc. has announced two separate joint venture projects that will, together, help make hemp-to-cellulosic ethanol a step closer to reality. … In late April the company formed Cellunol Inc. with ANW Inc., a South African company with a cellulosic pretreatment
May 12, 2014
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by Loni Prinsloo (Business Day Live) … South Africa has been producing sugar on a large scale since the first Indian labourers docked in Durban in 1860. The sweet cane has been processed mostly to be used in food and drink. However, due to significant increases in costs and increasing global
April 29, 2014
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by Nompumelelo Magwaza (Independent Online/Business Report) he Local sugar industry would need to be highly subsidised to kick-start the production of fuel grade ethanol, the SA Sugar Association (Sasa) said last week. Production had been in the pipeline since 2007, when the cabinet approved a 2 percent biofuel penetration into
April 1, 2014
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Brazil, Russia, India and China — and throw in South Africa for a complete BRICSA set. The vaunted new economic engines for the 21st century — and, lately, home to a beehive of activity around drop-in, sustainable, aviation biofuels. What’s up, with whom, where, when and
March 11, 2014
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(Biofuels International) A major renewable energy plant in Jozini, KwaZulu-Natal, which has been in planning for seven years, is set to start preliminary work in September. Silvapen Group, the South African – Brazilian company, plans to build the proposed R1.2 billion (€80 million) sugar-to-ethanol distillery using Brazilian technology. The distillery,
March 7, 2014
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(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” farmers in Southern Africa to grow crops that produce sustainable fuels. The program builds
March 6, 2014
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Following on from the success of last year’s event, we are pleased to announce that F.O. Licht’s Sugar and Ethanol Africa is once again taking place in Durban, South Africa from the 9-11 September 2014 – providing the platform for you to meet producers, investors, buyers and industry professionals from
February 5, 2014
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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 continue to come from the EU-27, where the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) specified a
January 2, 2014
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by Tshepiso Mokhema (Bloomberg) South Africa’s plan to source all grain needed for biofuels production locally means sorghum output will have to climb at least fivefold, the nation’s biggest representative of commercial farmers said. Biofuel must comprise at least 5 percent of diesel and 2 percent to 10 percent of
November 22, 2013
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(Ennovor/PR NewsWire) Customers seeking premium quality, reliable and sustainable biofuels will have greater choice. This follows a $12m investment in expanding the supply chain, production and feedstock capabilities of sustainable energy sector leader Ennovor Group. The enhancements are being financed by a $12 million dollar capital raise led by Black Pearl Capital. Ennovor Group
November 7, 2013
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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 the same fate at a global scale. The inherent productivity of many lands has been
November 7, 2013
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by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Egypt, Algasol Renewables announced the launch of its first commercial algae project. Led by Biodiesel Misr, based at the First Industrial Zone in Giza, the project will convert algal biomass to biodiesel to meet growing local demand. Biodiesel Misr will grow and harvest algae
November 5, 2013
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by Ben Geman (The Hill E2Wire) A new report finds that the most cost-effective climate change policies are the ones with the least political traction in the United States. Imposing an explicit cost on carbon pollution is the best way to put countries on a path toward steep emissions cuts,
October 15, 2013
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(MarketWatch/PR NewsWire) Collaboration on biofuel supply chain is part of broader efforts to support environmental sustainability Boeing [NYSE: BA] and South African Airways (SAA) announced today that they will work together to develop and implement a sustainable aviation biofuel supply chain in Southern Africa, a first for the continent. The
October 10, 2013
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At this event you will be able to: • Identify production growth opportunities within the African continent • Look at intra-region and international trade dynamics and identify supply gaps for both fuel and non-fuel ethanol • Assess production cost drivers for ethanol and their implications on producer margins • Hear
June 15, 2013
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by Judith Namutowe (AllAfrica.com) Government has said it will start importing ethanol from Zimbabwe with a view to lowering the high fuel prices in Zambia. And Government will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Zimbabwe-based firm, Green Fuel in its continued efforts to find cheaper sources of fuel for
May 28, 2013
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(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 joint venture agreement for the marketing, development and implementation of Megafolia© tree plantations throughout the
May 10, 2013
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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 – could be given a new lease on life before year-end when government hopes to
April 9, 2013
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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 concerns about environmental or public health impacts. In contrast, the use of genetically modified plants
March 19, 2013
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(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 can convert up to 3,000 litres of used cooking oil a day into biofuel.
March 6, 2013
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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 change and encourage energy efficiency measures. …The National Treasury’s current plan is to initiate the
March 6, 2013
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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 pleased to announce the launch of the second executive education certificate program, Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy and
February 26, 2013
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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 of ethanol at a reduced cost. Benjamin said a new scientific method developed as part
February 21, 2013
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(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 has installed its 3,000 liter (792.5 gallon) per day FuelMatic GSX 3, the newest and
January 25, 2013
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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 countries. Results of recent and on-going projects funded through the Global Sustainable Biomass Programme and
January 25, 2013
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(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 Ethanol Producers Association secretary Alf Stevens. READ MORE
December 21, 2012
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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 mandates survive pressure from opponents? In Florida, the Digest today releases its annual review of
November 28, 2012
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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 a doubt the technology is proven. Natural gas and coal (CTL) have been converted
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 trees stretching across Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia and China, engineered to grow 40% faster for
November 16, 2012
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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 ranged from small, symbolic down-shifting of the targets to a zeroing out of mandates for
October 25, 2012
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Global 2012 Corn Crop To Be Second Largest in History: OECD Official’s Comment on Biofuels Misguided
(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 from a recent World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report stated that farmers globally
September 21, 2012
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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 – e.g., underfunded agricultural research and extension, inadequate infrastructure, and insecure land tenure. However, I write
September 7, 2012
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(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 added value bio-products. Their discussions centered around the productive use of agricultural waste and algae
August 10, 2012
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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 at the launch of the Climate Change Policy Framework for state-owned companies. The framework
August 2, 2012
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(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 to support South African Airways (SAA). The country’s Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba, said
July 27, 2012
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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 who are seeking funding to introduce clean technology solutions and services. Held over two
July 3, 2012
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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 who are seeking funding to introduce clean technology solutions and services. Held over two
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 the environment. …Burning biofuels is considered neutral for greenhouse gases because they release only carbon
June 14, 2012
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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 and will be used during a demonstration flight on an Azul Embraer 195 aircraft
June 5, 2012
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(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 biofuel production since the Department of Energy published the draft Mandatory Blending Regulations in
March 28, 2012
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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, an industry player said on Monday. Africa’s biggest economy imports about 60 percent of its
February 22, 2012
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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 a preliminary study on the initiative. …“As the project will require land measuring 15
January 26, 2012
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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 said. …South Africa could introduce mandatory blending of as much as 10 percent “without compromising
December 14, 2011
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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 biofuel policy were mired in stalled talks on two continents. …So, biofuels producers are finding
December 9, 2011
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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 Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba… But he acknowledged that the airline’s consumption would create a “pressing
November 28, 2011
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(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, 2011), which commits signatories to a partnership to build and grow the green economy. The
November 18, 2011
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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. … Turning to ethanol production, the company said that South Africa, which is in the
November 15, 2011
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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 of electricity, 10 MMgy of ethanol and 10 MMgy biodiesel. Bill Bivins, CEO of One
October 28, 2011
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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 and resources to develop its bio-economy but was stymied by a lack of regulations
September 16, 2011
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