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Time for a New Biodiesel Policy in Brazil?
Friday, July 17th, 2009Luiz Prado says it’s time for Brazil to adopt a “serious” national policy on biodiesel. I think he has a point.
Brazil has had a biodiesel policy — er, make that a biodiesel program — since 2003. It has a number of elements, but the lynchpins are a blending mandate (currently set at B4), and a [...]
Brazil Invests in International Research Cooperation on Second Generation Biofuels
Friday, May 29th, 2009Brazil will invest R$11.6 million (about US$ million at current exchange rates) in international research cooperation regarding second-generation biofuels with the 27 member states and the many associate states of the European Union (EU). A request for proposals from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) calls for projects that develop new production [...]
IDB Funds Coal-Fired Power Plants in Brazil / O BID vai financiar usinas termelétricas a carvão no Brasil
Friday, March 20th, 2009From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
Brazil expands energy supply in Northeastern region with IDB financing
Innovative agreement will partially offset CO2 emissions by promoting renewable energy projects and greenhouse gas reduction research
Brazil will add 1,080 megawatts (MW) of electric power in the Northeastern states of Ceará and Maranhão with the construction of two coal-fired power plants [...]
Not Always Easy Exporting Ethanol
Saturday, February 21st, 2009To hear some biofuel critics tell it, ethanol from sugarcane is being produced in Brazil without regard to its environmental impacts, and certification requirements in export markets such as Europe do not influence such behavior.
Hearing of cases such as the one below gives me doubts about such charges.
The sugar and alcohol producers in the tiny [...]
Now Renewables Have Their Own International Agency
Saturday, January 31st, 2009The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was created at a founding conference in Bonn, Germany, this week, followed the next day by a short working session of the preparatory commission charged with getting it up-and-running. The brainchild of renewable advocate Germany, with strong backing from Denmark and Spain, IRENA is intended to raise the profile [...]
What the Other Guy Blogs About: Biofuel from Coffee
Saturday, January 24th, 2009When it was first reported that biofuel could be made from coffee oil, I read as many press reports and blog pieces on it as I could find, because the concept intrigued me. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), after all, is a major coffee growing region. And no, I am not just referring to [...]
Brazil Sets New Records for Ethanol and Biodiesel
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009The Brazilian government reports that its consumption and exports of ethanol set new records in 2008, as did the consumption and production of biodiesel.
According to figures released by the Renewable Fuels Department of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Brazil produced 24.5 billion liters of ethanol in 2008, and exported 5.16 billion. The principal [...]
New IDB Financing Facility for Sugar & Bioenergy / Nova Linha de Financiamento do BID para Açúcar e Bioenergia / Nueva facilidad de financiamento del BID para azúcar y bioenergía
Friday, January 16th, 2009From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB):
IDB backs $150 million Regional Financing Facility for Sugar and Bioenergy
Program will focus on northeastern Brazil, Mexico and Central America
The Inter-American Development Bank will support the establishment of a $150 million facility to provide short-term trade financing and medium-term investment loans to sugar and bioenergy companies and exporters in Brazil, [...]
A Unique GEO for MEROSUR
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008Last month a GEO for the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR or MERCOSUL) was finally unveiled with much fanfare by representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the meeting of MERCOSUR Environment Ministers.
What’s a GEO? It’s probably the best known type of comprehensive environmental diagnosis available. “GEO” was the acronym for “Global Environment [...]
Brazil Defends Sugarcane Ethanol / Brasil defende etanol de cana-de-açúcar
Friday, November 21st, 2008From Brazil’s Nation Development Bank (BNDES):
BNDES publishes book with unprecedented mapping of the ethanol sector
Brazil is one of the most advanced countries in technology and productivity in all stages of the sugarcane ethanol production chain. The Brazilian experience shows that sugarcane bioethanol has become one of the most important responses to the growing need to [...]