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Loading ...Largest Biofuel Loan Yet by a Multilateral Bank
Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008Temas Note: This announcement is interesting to me for at least four reasons. First, as the title says, this is the largest biofuel loan package yet made by a multilateral development bank (MDB). [I doubt that record will stand, and probably will not even stand for very long.] Second, it underscores IDB’s commitment to, and […]
BNDES Supports Cogeneration Using Sugarcane Waste
Monday, July 7th, 2008The announcement of National Development Bank (BNDES) backing for cogeneration utilizing sugarcane bagasse in São Paulo was followed not long thereafter by a São Paulo state decree eliminating the charge of sales tax (Impostos Sobre Circulação de Mercadorias e Prestação de Serviços – ICMS) on operations of sugarcane/alcohol plants and cogeneration utilizing their bagasse — […]
Costa Rica’s Biofuel Program
Friday, June 6th, 2008Costa Rica has committed itself to a full roll-out of ethanol blended gasoline and biodiesel by October of this year. The ethanol will be sourced from sugarcane (using Brazilian tech) and blended at the El Alto plant of the state-owned refinery in charge of the implementation of the biofuel program, Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo, S.A. […]
A Call for a Reality Check on Biofuel
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007If you listen to their proponents, biofuels are the answer to many environmental, energy and economic ills and can do no wrong. They are destined to unseat OPEC and free us all from hydrocarbon dependence. If you listen to their detractors, biofuels are a sham that may bring environmental disaster and servitude to multinational corporations, […]
Biofuel in Barbados?
Thursday, August 23rd, 2007If you’re not familiar yet with Barbados Free Press but care about the West Indies, you should check out BFP. Sometimes quirky, but always entertaining and usually informative, BFP loves to disclose and comment provocatively on what the island’s traditional press reports timidly or sometimes not at all. And there’s always many, many comments to […]
Guyana to Host Caribbean Bioenergy Seminar
Saturday, July 28th, 2007To fully understand the antecedents for this seminar, check out prior posts on the IDB’s strategy for biofuels, the OAS’ renewed commitment to sustainable energy, and Guyana’s biofuel protential. From the Guyana Government Information Agency (GINA): Government to convene high-level bio-level seminar In light of recent reforms and growing interest in the production of bio-energy, […]
Guyana’s Biofuels Potential
Monday, July 23rd, 2007Not too long ago the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) released a report assessing Guyana’s potential as a producer of biofuels. The report did not receive much attention outside of Guyana at the time, so I thought I would provide a quick look at it here on The Temas Blog, […]
Sustainable Agriculture as a Key to Protecting the Mesoamerican Reef
Wednesday, June 20th, 2007Synopsis in English: WWF has concluded an agreement with major Honduran producers of palm oil — specifically Palmas de San Alejo and AGROTOR, subsidiaries of the JAREMAR Group — to adopt specified good agricultural management practices in order to reduce the impact their production has on the nearby huge Mesoamerican Reef (MAR). The agreement has […]
A Bioenergy Law in Limbo
Wednesday, June 20th, 2007Approved, But Not Yet Law The Mexican Congress passed a national bioenergy bill at the end of April, but you’d hardly know it. The action was only briefly noted in a few national and specialized journals at the time. No big momentous press releases issued from the President’s office, or the Secretaries of Energy, Environment […]
In Ethanol, as São Paulo Goes, So Goes Brazil?
Thursday, May 10th, 2007The Governor of São Paulo State (SP), José Serra, recently announced the creation of a high-profile “Special Bioenergy Commission” to map out where the State goes in the production of “clean and renewable energy” in coming years. Within six months (i.e., before the end of October) the Commission is provide the Governor with an action […]