News | Jatropha Curcas selected by Youmanitas

Artificial Blood vessels from Jatropha?

2010-04-30T13:33:00.001-07:00

After bio-diesel, this humble tropical weed could now help Indian researchers to indigenously develop blood vessels.

A biodegradable polymer recently developed from Jatropha has attracted researchers from IIT-Madras to work towards a project in this direction. The IITians are not alone. A Thiruvananthapuram-based medical institute Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST) and a Belgium-based multi-national company have also evinced interest in the polymer developed by a Gujarat-based national research institute.

The Central Salt Marine Chemicals and Research Institute (CSMCRI) located in Bhavnagar district of the state has hit upon a process by which biodegradable polymers can be developed at almost zero-cost using one of the byproducts of Jatropha — a drought-resistant perennial plant that grows even in sandy and saline conditions.

“The technique to create bio-degradable plastic from the recently dis-covered polymers may not remain limited to making bio-degradable polythene bags. The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has now evinced interest in collaborating with us in developing artificial blood vessels,” said Pushpito K Ghosh, director of the institute.
The institute has so far been offering its expertise to a number of Indian and foreign automotive manufactures like DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra to develop efficient vehicles that run on bio-diesel sourced from Jatropha.

It has also been doing pioneering work in developing bio-diesel from Jatropha.
The scientists, however, continued to experiment with one of the by-products crude glycerol and discovered this biodegradable polymer which is believed to have multiple uses in the field of medicine including the development of artificial blood vessels.

Such artificial blood vessels generally comprises of a woven, braided or knitted fabric structure. They are tubes made from synthetic (chemically produced) materials to restore blood circulation.
“The polymer could be used in spinning thin hollow fibres which could act as a substitute for blood vessels,” Mr Ghosh said.

The polymer was a “relatively inert material” and is biodegradable when left in soil. “The long term degradation of this material is a matter of careful study,” he added.

A leading cardiac surgeon in Ahmedabad, Dr Apoorva Kanhere says that any material that is being developed as an artificial blood vessel need to be inert and supple. “It should not be thrombogenic (meaning it should not aid the clotting of blood) and it should also be able to withstand the blood pressure,” he said.

Synthetic grafts in humans are often required in various vascular by-pass surgeries. Such surgery is done to open blocked arteries in one part of the body by using a vessel from elsewhere in the body. How-ever, up to 40% of patients (especially those who are diabetic) don’t have a vessel suitable for the procedure. In such cases, surgeons use synthetic grafts or artificial blood vessels.

While IITians are looking to develop artificial blood vessels, a Kerala-based institute is also looking at possibilities to develop nano particulate systems which could be used in developing medical instruments for targeted delivery of drugs.

The new discovery has also caught the attention of a Belgium-based firm which is looking to jointly collaborate with CSMCRI to commercially develop the bio-polymer on a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) basis.
“If negotiations work out, then a joint collaboration with this firm can be forged, Mr Ghosh said.
“This will help the discovery to be taken to the second phase which will involve scaling up the production of the polymers from a few grams to kilogram,” he added.

Eventually, according Mr Ghosh, the third phase of the project at CSMCRI will involve scaling up the production to the tonne-mark.

“We have sent a few grams of the polymer to both the institutes (IIT-Madras and SCTIMST) for preliminary tests,” Mr Ghosh said.

The success of the polymer has also attracted the country’s Department of Science and Technology which has floated a proposal to fund 70% of the project cost, provided the institute has an industry partner who can fund the remaining 30% of the cost.

Biofuels by Youmanitas Energy Farms Foundation

2009-10-09T12:31:00.001-07:00

Jatropha biodiesel: Coming to a farm near you

2009-03-30T02:39:00.001-07:00

Science
Written by Miguel R. Camus / Researcher
Sunday, 29 March 2009 20:06

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—Two years since local research efforts into jatropha began, the shrub, planted by some farmers as a natural fence, may soon be put to better use.

A plan to create more energy-independent communities using jatropha methyl ester (JME) in diesel for the country’s poorest rural areas may be realized before the end of this year, according to Rafael Coscolluela, vice chairman of the government run National Biofuels Board (NBB).

Citing the speed by which this program can be implemented, Coscolluela said the NBB has been working with the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), which is spearheading JME research, toward putting up a replicable model for village-type jatropha operations all over the country.

The NBB chief is targeting pilots to be set up within 2009.

“There is a parallel market that can be met by jatropha diesel fuel,” said Coscolluela, former governor of Negros Occidental province, at the sidelines of a biofuel forum held last week.

The forum was hosted by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), in a two-day conference which brought together officials from the government and academe involved in the biofuel sector.

Coscolluela further said even with the current oversupply of the more prevalent diesel with coconut methyl ester (CME), he sees a large demand for JME diesel for small towns and communities in the provinces.

DR. Virgilio T. Villancio, program leader of jatropha for biodiesel research for the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB), holds up a dehusked jatropha seed while taking questions from members of the media. Behind him are the UPLB-developed miniature-scale jatropha oil expellers used for separating oil from the jatropha seeds. MIGUEL CAMUS
Describing the current situation, he said coconut farmers sell their produce to big oil players and processing plants, which then sell their biodiesel through gasoline stations. However, these stations are often inaccessible to small provincial towns, he said, adding that diesel prices tend to be more expensive the farther away one is from Metro Manila.

JME diesel can fuel cooking stoves and power small-town generators, as well as farming equipment and vehicles like tractors and pumps that run on diesel engines.

“If diesel fuel from jatropha is produced in the rural areas for local consumption, just imagine how much you’re saving in terms of transportation costs alone,” said the chief of the NBB, which oversees the Philippine biofuel program.

This program is not without precedent. According to India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat), a global independent research institute aiding poor semi-arid areas, they have had some success in using biodiesel to help sustain village needs.

“Research for development is the new paradigm,” said Dr. Rex Navarro, a Filipino who is the director of communication and special assistant to Icrisat’s director general Dr. William Dar, former Philippine Department of Agriculture secretary.

He also noted improvements in the villages around Hyderabad City, capital of the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.

In partnership with the Indian government, Icrisat succeeded in creating a rehabilitation model for 300 hectares of common degraded land in the Rangareddy district in the outskirts of Hyderabad, and also in the poor tribal villages in the northern Adilabad District.

Icrisat said the biofuel extracted from these areas are derived from jatropha and pongamia tree seeds, also a nonedible source of biodiesel, and are used locally in villages or sold in markets.

Dr. Virgilio Villancio, UPLB’s program leader of the integrated research and development program on jatropha for biodiesel, estimated that jatropha investments for the Philippines would cost P2 million to P3 million per town. The expense, he said, is mostly for the shrub’s processing equipment.

A jatropha oil expeller, which separates oil from the jatropha seed, costs at least P2 million.

This machine can extract some 1,000 liters of jatropha oil a day and is suitable for a 200-hectare jatropha field—a land area nearly 15 times the size of the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

UPLB estimates that there are some 1,500 liters of jatropha oil—from about 1,600 plants—per hectare. After processing, this quantity, said Villancio, can supply the diesel requirements of a small town.

Villancio did not give specific areas where they will set up pilot facilities, but noted in his presentation several suitable locations identified by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

These include broad swaths of lands in Cagayan Valley, Ilocos, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Bicol, Mindoro , Palawan, Central and Eastern Visayas, Caraga and Zamboanga, among several others. Overall, there are almost 13 million hectares of land suitable for jatropha planting.

Clearing misconceptions

This latest direction for the jatropha program underscores how sentiments toward the crop have evolved in recent years. Jatropha’s ascension as a miracle crop, and then decried as a “blunder” crop, was largely due to the lack of information available then, said Villancio.

“In the Philippines, the hype went ahead of development, so we in development had to catch up,” he said, noting the number of farmers who started planting jatropha without fully understanding how to treat it, or even the correct variety to plant.

Villancio said UPLB has conducted research on hundreds of samples of Jatropha curcas, the crop’s scientific name, based on oil yield and fatty-acid profile, among other characteristics. Today, UPLB has narrowed that list to over a dozen promising selections, he said.

Meanwhile, the two-year study titled “Ex-Ante Socioeconomic and Institutional Assessment of Jatropha Production, Promotion and Development as Biodiesel” sought to provide the social impacts as well as field realities of jatropha as a biodiesel source.

It was carried out by UPLB in 15 locations across Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao and is set to be concluded in July 2009.

Dr. Nena Espiritu, assistant professor at the UPLB College of Forestry and Natural Resources, shared partial results from the study, in which she is the project leader.

Citing excerpts from the report, Espiritu corrected many early misconceptions about jathropa like claims that it will compete with food, as farmers switch to jatropha farming instead of food crops. Jatropha is a nonfood crop, unlike coconut.

Almost 50 percent of farmers polled disagreed that jatropha production will overtake food production. They reasoned that jatropha will only be planted in marginal or poor-quality lands, and also because food crops can be readily sold and can sustain their needs.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of farm implementers also see no food-fuel competition, for similar reasons.

Another belief was that jatropha needed minimal input requirements like water, fertilizer, pesticides and less laborers. But according to UPLB, the crop is susceptible to pests like yellow mites and red spider mites and thrips, a small winged pest.

She acknowledged that crops need maintenance, and therefore can be very labor-intensive.

Yet, it is also for this precise reason that jatropha farming presents opportunities to create more jobs in towns and villages.

Jatropha for income augmentation

In the UPLB study, a significant number (95 percent) of farmers and implementers hold a favorable view of jatropha, anticipating that it will deliver more income and jobs, among other reasons.

Villancio said that for now, prices are at P6 to P7 per kilogram (kg). One hectare of jatropha holds an average of 5,250 kg (5 tons) of seeds, according to the UPLB scientist.

“At that price, farmers can make money, but not that much,” he said. He added that more research should be put into a detoxification study, to determine the viability of selling jatropha byproducts to produce, for instance, fertilizers and even livestock feed. The jatropha seed has toxic characteristics.

Villancio also noted that the village model is favored over large-scale plantations because JME in diesel is not competitive with mainstream diesel prices due to the lower cost of global crude-oil prices, which as of Friday have slid over 60 percent since its peak in July 2008.

Technology improving

Villancio said that research has also improved particularly with jatropha-growing techniques.

Improvements in pruning, for instance, increased the number of fruiting branches. UPLB can now achieve 48 fruiting branches per shrub. Jatropha seed, about two to three per fruit, has yields of 30 percent to 40 percent crude nonedible oil. The oil expeller can recover some 80 percent of seed oil content.

Intercropping, or planting other produce with jatropha, is also being used. Citing UPLB research studies, Villancio said turmeric and sweet potatoes are the best performers among trials, which included papaya, pineapple and arrowroot, a root crop.

Challenges still remain, like the length of time to develop jatropha fields. While jatropha plants may start bearing some fruit in six months, and harvesting may occur by the eighth month, Villancio said it would still take three to four years for it to reach full productivity. Also, issues on funding support and tenurial issues of land committed for jatropha have to be worked out.

“Biofuels present just one solution; we can’t pretend that this will solve all problems,” said Coscolluela. “But it can contribute a lot of we do it properly.”

Renault y Jatropha

2009-03-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

Renewable energy can provide economic stimulus, Bio says

2009-01-16T07:24:00.001-08:00

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Renewable energy production can provide long-term economic growth and thousands of new green jobs for the United States, while helping to reduce reliance on oil and cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Biotechnology Industry Organization today called on Congress to include support for biorefineries, biobased materials, and energy crops in economic stimulus legislation.

Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, said, “Congress has an opportunity to ensure that the United States’ economic recovery is both financially and environmentally sustainable. Investment in advanced biofuels, biobased materials, and energy crops can produce thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity. These investments can also help the United States reduce its dependence on oil and its emissions of greenhouse gases.

“A cellulosic biorefinery that produces both advanced biofuels and biobased products could create as many as 2,200 new jobs and increase economic activity by more than $1 billion. Including support for new biorefineries as well as energy crop producers in economic stimulus legislation would promote construction of dozens of new biorefineries.”

Specific proposals to stimulate the economy and employment through commercialization of advanced biofuels and biobased products include:

* Extend the Cellulosic Biofuel Production Tax Credit
Under current law, the production tax credit for cellulosic biofuels is available through 2011, but only a small number of commercial cellulosic facilities are expected to be placed in service by that time. This is a significant impediment to additional investment in this industry at a time when the drop in crude oil prices has further increased the challenge of commercialization.
* Increase Funding for Biomass RD&D and Biorefinery Construction
USDA and Department of Energy programs to support research and development as well as construction of biorefineries have provided real benefits in helping commercialize cellulosic biofuels and biobased materials. A funding increase for these programs could accelerate technological developments and attract capital investment necessary to bring large volumes of cellulosic biofuels to the market within the next five years.
* Create a Production Tax Credit for Biobased Materials
Advanced biobased materials, such as biobased plastics and renewable chemicals, reduce dependence on oil and greenhouse gas emissions by substituting biomass for petroleum. However, biobased materials are not currently incentivized in the tax code.
* Increase Funding for USDA Biobased Markets Program
The USDA’s Biobased Markets Program is intended to accelerate the commercialization of biobased products through a USDA Certified Biobased Labeling program and procurement program. Additional funding can speed implementation of the program and help develop the fledgling biobased products market.
* Fast Track the Biomass Crop Assistance Program
The Biomass Crop Assistance Program helps farmers to establish, maintain, harvest, collect, store and transport next-generation energy crops. The program is critical to developing supply chains for advanced cellulosic biorefineries.

The Advanced Biofuels & Climate Change Information Center presents the latest commentary and data on the environmental, greenhouse gas and other impacts of biofuel production. Drop in and add your comments, at http://biofuelsandclimate.wordpress.com/.

BIO represents more than 1,200 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations across the United States and in more than 30 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of innovative healthcare, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products. BIO also produces the BIO International Convention, the world’s largest gathering of the biotechnology industry, along with industry-leading investor and partnering meetings held around the world.

Gaiatech supplies biodiesel for public transit in India

2009-01-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

January 15, 2009

Hyderabad-based firm signs deals with transportation authorities in Navi Mumbai and Karnataka to use biofuel from vegetable oil, fish oil and tallow.

Hyderabad, India-based Gaiatech Fuels said it plans to supply 1.6 million liters (423,000 gallons) of biodiesel to Navi Mumbai’s bus system under a one-year contract.

The fuel is expected to be used in a B20 blend for the Municipal Transport system’s 261 buses, which together travel 40,400 miles a day. Gaiatech’s biodiesel comes from vegetable oils, fish oil and tallow, but the company has plans to partner with jatropha and pongamia plantations for feedstock.

Gaiatech began supplying biodiesel on a trial basis to the West Coast city’s transportation department in September. Navi Mumbai was developed in 1972 as a twin city for Mumbai and is one of the largest planned cities in the world.

Mike Stiller, director for Gaiatech, told Biodiesel Magazine that there was competition for the contract with larger companies.

"It gets our foot in the door. This is really the first major order we have received from them and so, obviously, they were happy with what we have done previously," he said.

Gaiatech also supplies biodiesel to the transportation department for the state of Karnataka, which includes the city of Bangalore. Last year, the company delivered 250,000 liters (66,000 gallons) to Karnataka but is trying to secure a larger supply deal for 3 million liters (793,000 gallons).

Oil imports account for 77 percent of total fuel consumption in India, so the government has encouraged the production of ethanol to increase supply and lower prices (see Simbhaoli Sugars opens third molasses plant for ethanol).

India currently requires a 5-percent biofuel blend. Plans were shelved last year to increase that blend to 10 percent because of increased sugarcane costs (see India to delay October's ethanol mandate).

In October, India said it would require a 20-percent biofuel blend by 2017 from non-edible sources grown on non-farming land (see India, EU affirm new biofuels). The country also called for the elimination of tax and duties on biodiesel.

However, the country has had problems blending biodiesel in with its fuel supply, leading some Indian distributors to ship biodiesel to the U.S. and EU (see India can't use own biodiesel).

Stiller said Gaiatech plans to focus on the Indian market.

"If we start trying to get involved in Europe and the U.S., the competition is fierce," Stiller said. "There is a lot of competition in India, but they have got such a huge demand building up over the next 10 to 20 years that, frankly, there is not enough (supply) at the moment to be able to service that demand."

Global Desertification

2009-01-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Where does desertification occur?

2009-01-13T12:41:00.001-08:00

No continent, except Antarctica, is immune from desertification. The problem is
particularly acute in Africa, which has 37 per cent of the world’s arid zones. About
66 per cent of its land is either desert or drylands. The impact is also severe in Asia,
which holds 33 per cent of the world’s arid zones.
Degraded areas include the sand dunes of the Syrian Arab Republic, the steep
mountain slopes of Nepal, the deserts of Australia and the deforested highlands of the
Lao People’s Democratic Republic. In the Americas there are deserts that stretch from
southern Ecuador along the entire Peruvian shoreline and into northern Chile. Europe,
Italy, Portugal and Turkey all experience desertification.
The effects of desertification are often felt far beyond the regions where it is
occurring. Airborne particles affect cloud formation and rainfall patterns. Dust storms
from the Gobi Desert affect visibility in Beijing. Dust from the Sahara has been
implicated in respiratory problems in North America and has affected Caribbean reefs.

Wastelands to Bio-Diesel Farms: An Indian State’s Answer to Diesel Fuel Shortage Written by Govind Singh

2009-01-13T12:20:00.000-08:00

Published on August 20th, 2008

Plant wonder Jatropha

* See Also: India Sets Aside 40% of Regional Wasteland for Jatropha Biodiesel Production (Gas 2.0)

Worried and uncertain about meeting its energy requirements in the near future, the Indian agricultural state of Uttar Pradesh is now taking to bio-fueling itself! The state government has just released a plan to turn wastelands throughout the state into bio-diesel farms by cultivating Jatropha on over 40 per cent of the total wasteland. Also, and contrary to the state policies so far, the wasteland will not be taken over by the government and instead farmers will be allotted land and will be provided with necessary technical assistance to facilitate a good crop.

To successfully implement the Wastelands to Bio-Diesel Farms plan, the Uttar Pradesh state government has said to have formed a joint venture of the State Jatropha Mission Cellwith Bharat Petroleum Ltd. in the name of Bharat Renewable Energy Ltd (BREL), which will invest Rs. 2,031 crores in 30 districts of the state towards bio-diesel production. The latter will be responsible for production, procurement, cultivation, plantation of horticulture crops such as Jatropha, Pongamia, trading research and development and management of all crops and plantation including biofuels in Uttar Pradesh.

The state has set a target to bring at least 40 per cent of the total declared wasteland in the state under Jatropha cultivation in the next five years. With increasing mechanization of the farming practise in the state and launching of various programs to improve agricultural practises, the total energy demand for the state has only been on the rise. Bio-fuel is thus seen as a solution to meet this growing energy requirement so as to maintain and enhance the food supply.

This will indeed be a boost in the new and renewables energy sector as well though sceptics warn of a possible backlash of promoting energy cropping in any form, especially in a rapidly developing economy such as India.

The cost of desertification

2008-12-11T02:58:00.000-08:00

While the United Nations estimates that desertification costs US$42 billion a year, the annual cost to prevent land degradation is estimated at only US$2.4 billion, according to the UN.

Dryland can become Graceland

2008-12-11T02:50:00.000-08:00

Dryland farmers need rescue plan for Wasteland

2008-12-11T02:48:00.000-08:00

Written by William Dar

Farmers that work the arid and semi-arid lands, especially in the developing world, need policy, institutional and financial support more than the corporates/ reuters
October 30, 2008: Even as governments are bailing out banks, insurance companies and financial institutions to prevent them from going bankrupt and starting a domino effect, they continue to neglect the poor farmers in their countries, an action that can have short- and long-term adverse impacts on national and global economies.

It is not just Wall Street that needs bailing out, but also the “side streets”, where poor farmers across the world reside, especially those working the drylands of developing countries. Farmers in developing countries, particularly those that work the marginal arid and semi-arid ecological zones need policy, institutional and financial support more than corporate entities.

As of July 2008, the world population was estimated to be 6.6 billion. One billion of these are utterly poor people, most of whom live in the dryland areas of the world.

When seen in conjunction with the present day food crisis and unabated rise in food prices that are affecting the common man, who, more than the poor, has a right to substantial assistance from governments?

Working for decades with poor farmers in the drylands of Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, ICRISAT — the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics — believes that it is essential to strengthen the resource base and incomes of resource-poor farmers.

These farmers are often the backbone of developing country economies. If their conditions are not improved, developing economies will continue to suffer adverse impacts that will be difficult to repair. Dryland farmers particularly suffer from the lack of governmental support.

Yet governments can do so much to support these farmers. In addition to financial support, dryland farmers need supportive policies, improved infrastructure, improved access to better quality seeds and inputs, irrigation support, and support for establishing more effective institutions.

Cutting-edge agricultural research can achieve substantial improvements in crop yields and farmers’ income. So it falls to reason that agricultural research itself should be supported better through government funds.

It is worth mentioning that less than 10 per cent of public spending in developing countries goes to agriculture even though this sector commonly accounts for about half of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). And less than one per cent of public spending goes to agricultural research; research that is vital to innovative solutions that open new livelihood opportunities.

This year’s World Development Report focusing on Agriculture for Development establishes that GDP growth originating in agriculture is about four times more effective in raising incomes of extremely poor people than that from other sectors where governments tend to focus more attention and effort.

The Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) recently evaluated the impacts of its continued investment in agricultural research and found that for every US$1 invested in international agricultural research, US$9 worth of additional food is produced in developing countries where it is needed most.

ICRISAT is working and adopting innovative strategies to pursue its vision of improving the well-being of the poor of the semi-arid tropics in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Its mission is to help reduce poverty, enhance food and nutritional security and protect the environment.

Proactive measures
Some of the methods ICRISAT uses for improving crop productivity and increasing farmers’ income are integrated crop improvement and natural resource management; development and use of effective agricultural biotechnology tools for faster, more effective crop breeding; agro-ecosystem development and management; research on markets, policies and institutions; development of effective public-private-people partnerships; and the development of a pro-poor biofuel package.

In our experience, proactive measures by governments of comparable zest as witnessed in the current global financial crisis in support of dryland farmers can greatly alleviate the concurrent global food crisis.

Dr Dar is the Director General of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

Power Sector Speaks up on Climate Technology

2008-12-08T08:58:00.000-08:00

Poznan, 8 December 2008 - A group of CEOs from some of the world's best-known electricity companies has released a detailed report showing that enough low-carbon technologies exist to help the world avert damaging climate change, but that strong policy is needed to support their rapid deployment.

The business leaders, all members of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's Electricity Utilities Sector Project, have taken part in a "technology-by-technology" analysis to determine what policies will be needed at national and international levels to deploy the technologies on the required scale. Balancing energy security, providing affordable electricity and mitigating climate change will require global cooperation.

"In the coming decades," the CEOs say in the report, "the world will need double today's power generation. We in the power sector have a strong opportunity to take a lead in combating climate change. But we cannot do this alone. We need to work with governments and other stakeholders to find solutions. We realize some of these changes will take many years, but there is no time to lose and it is only through combined efforts that we will succeed in creating a low-carbon, sustainable energy future."

The report, called "Power to Change: A business contribution to a low-carbon electricity future," was released today by the WBCSD at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland. Building on an interim report published in Bali last year, the companies have tested policy thinking through international talks in China, Japan and South Africa to arrive at the final recommendations presented in the report. It contains a comprehensive comparison of existing and potential technologies with a very specific outline of policies and measures to drive large-scale technological development and deployment worldwide.

The investment needed for capital replacement and additional infrastructure development has been estimated at $US11.6 trillion by 2030.The report highlights that this presents a significant opportunity to direct investments towards low-carbon technologies.

"About 41 per cent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions come from the electricity sector," said Matthew Bateson, WBCSD's managing director of Energy and Climate. "It will be a challenge to cut those emissions while maintaining economic development and sustaining the social benefits provided by electricity, but, given the need for new investment in the industry, it could also be an opportunity."

"The sector operates on long-term investments, so decisions made today will persist for the next 40 years or so, if not longer. So it is essential that the right decisions are taken today."

The CEOs say business cannot address the challenge of climate change alone and that urgent action from governments is needed. "The recent crisis in the global financial markets must not be allowed to stifle or delay critical infrastructure investments at a time when these are so badly needed," they say.

Project member companies: ABB Ltd., AEP, CLP Holdings Ltd., EDF Group, Eskom Holdings Ltd., GDF SUEZ, Kansai Electric Power Company, Statkraft, Tokyo Electric Power Company Inc.

Microloans Pay Off for Planet, Investors

2008-12-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

Washington, D.C.-The number of "microborrowers" worldwide-people participating in the rapidly growing field of microfinance-increased by 17 percent in 2006, benefiting both communities and the environment, according to the latest Vital Signs Update released by the Worldwatch Institute.

"By helping individuals and villages replace firewood, oil, and kerosene with solar, wind, hydro, and biofuels, microfinance institutions help to improve the local environment while expanding access to electricity, boiled water, and refrigeration, dramatically improving the quality of life of the poor," said Worldwatch Senior Researcher and Update author Gary Gardner.

Microfinance refers to financial services, including loans, savings accounts, and insurance products, that are designed to serve people with very low incomes. The 17 percent increase seen in 2006, the latest year for which data are available, continued a trend of double-digit growth that averaged some 29 percent annually between 2001 and 2006.

The global loan portfolio of the 340 microfinance institutions tracked by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) also grew rapidly in 2006, increasing by 34 percent to $13.5 billion dollars. The average microloan size worldwide is now $1,026 and the average savings account balance is $1,126. Globally, the loan write-off ratio was 3.1 percent in 2006, lower than that of many commercial banks.

The sudden and significant success of microfinance is increasing pressure on many microfinance institutions to become more commercially oriented in their operations. Some analysts fear that this shift may cause microfinance institutions to raise interest rates or distribute profits to shareholders rather than reinvesting them in microfinance activities, hindering their original mission of poverty reduction. Proponents of private investment counter that commercializing microfinance is needed to attract the large sums of capital that will allow the practice to spread rapidly.

Regardless, the potential for expansion of microfinance remains significant. Today's 133 million microborrowers represent only 5 percent of the people who lived on $2 or less per day in 2001. The Microcredit Summit Campaign, which helped spur the surge in microfinance with its goal of recruiting 100 million borrowers between 1997 and 2005, is now working to expand the number of microcredit recipients to 175 million by 2015.

Women are the most common benefactors of microfinance programs, accounting for 98 percent of borrowers in Asia and some two thirds of clients in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. As the birthplace of microfinance, Asia leads the world with 113 million borrowers, or roughly 85 percent of the global total. Latin America reported the fastest growth in borrowers in 2006, at 53 percent.

"Long ignored by mainstream financial institutions, microfinance is now a hot investment opportunity," notes Gardner. "The poor have proven themselves to be a good investment bet. The challenge now lies in spreading and deepening that investment to bring widespread opportunity and prosperity to the world's poor. "

Brasilien: GTZ und Petrobras Biocombustível vereinbaren PPP

2008-11-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

Neue Perspektiven für das Armenhaus Brasiliens

Agrartreibstoffe stehen international im Kreuzfeuer der Kritik. Nicht so bei den Kleinbauern im Armenhaus Brasiliens. Das 2004 von Präsident Lula aus der Taufe gehobene staatliche Biodieselprogramm eröffnet ihnen neue Einkommensmöglichkeiten. Der mit der Umsetzung beauftragte Erdölkonzern Petrobras suchte nun die Zusammenarbeit mit der GTZ. Am 7. Oktober unterzeichneten GTZ und Petrobras ein PPP-Projekt zur Stärkung kleinbäuerlicher Strukturen für das Biodieselprogramm.
Ulrich Krammenschneider, GTZ-Büroleiter Brasilien, und Bereichsleiter Christoph Beier mit Vertretern von Petrobras Biocombustivél und dem landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsdienst im Bundesstaat Ceará bei der Vertragsunterzeichnung. Foto: GTZ Brasilien

(Bild: Ulrich Krammenschneider, GTZ-Büroleiter Brasilien, und Bereichsleiter Christoph Beier mit Vertretern von Petrobras Biocombustivél und dem landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsdienst im Bundesstaat Ceará bei der Vertragsunterzeichnung. Foto: GTZ Brasilien)

Für die Kleinbauern im Nordosten Brasiliens ist das Programm der Regierung eine willkommene Gelegenheit, ihre Lebensumstände zu verbessern. Das Ministerium für Agrarentwicklung (MDA) hat mit dem „Combustível Social“ (Sozialer Kraftstoff) ein Siegel für Biodiesel eingeführt, das den Produzenten erhebliche Steuervorteile einräumt. Voraussetzung dafür ist der Abschluss von Verträgen mit kleinbäuerlichen Betrieben, die den Kauf der Rohstoffe zu einem festen Preis und die technische Unterstützung der kleinbäuerlichen Produzenten garantieren. Die Einbindung kleinbäuerlicher Produktionsbetriebe und die Berücksichtigung ökologischer Aspekte stellen die Energieunternehmen allerdings vor für sie völlig neue Herausforderungen. An dieser Stelle sind die Erfahrungen der GTZ in der Beratung kleinbäuerlicher Strukturen und der Gestaltung partizipativer Prozesse gefragt.

Partner sind neben der GTZ, Petrobras und der Landesregierung von Ceará auch die Organisation der bäuerlichen Landwirtschaft, die Landlosenbewegung und die Föderation von Arbeitern in der kleinbäuerlichen Landwirtschaft Brasiliens. 25 technische Beraterinnen und Berater werden für die Betreuung von 2.000 Familien (insgesamt etwa 8.000 Personen) in zwölf Landkreisen der halbwüstenhaften Gebiete des Bundesstaates qualifiziert. „Es ist nicht das Anliegen dieser vom BMZ geförderten öffentlich-privaten Partnerschaft, die Produktion von Biodiesel zu fördern. Uns geht es darum, die bäuerliche Landwirtschaft als Eckpfeiler der regionalen Entwicklung zu stärken und neue Märkte zu erschließen, um ländliche Armut auf Dauer zu reduzieren“, erklärt Ulrich Krammenschneider, GTZ-Büroleiter in Brasília. Es gilt, die Organisationen der bäuerlichen Landwirtschaft zu stärken und Methoden für partizipative Abstimmungsprozesse zu vermitteln.

Die Landwirte betonen, dass sie nicht vorhaben, ihre Produktion komplett auf Sonnenblumen und trockenresistenten Rizinus umzustellen. „Keiner wird aufhören, Ziegen und Hühner zu halten, Honig zu produzieren und Obstbau zu betreiben“, so Stephan Görtz, Mitarbeiter des DED in den Bereichen kleinbäuerliche Landwirtschaft und Biodiesel. Monokulturen werde es nicht geben, bekräftigen ihrerseits die Bauernführer.

In Gesprächen mit der Petrobras-Unternehmensspitze stellte Christoph Beier, Bereichsleiter Asien/Pazifik, Lateinamerika/Karibik, nochmals heraus, dass „das Anliegen der deutschen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit eine sozial und ökologisch verträgliche Produktion von Agrartreibstoffen ist. Dazu gehört auch, einer Ausweitung der Produktion von Rohstoffen für Kraftstoffe zu Lasten der Nahrungsmittelproduktion entgegenzuwirken.“

Onderzoek: Kredietcrisis versterkt ernst energiecrisis

2008-11-24T08:22:00.003-08:00

In een op maandag 23 november gepubliceerd onderzoek concludeert Peak Oil Nederland dat de kredietcrisis de problemen in de energiesector versterkt. Ondanks de sterke vraaguitval, als gevolg van de effecten van de kredietcrisis op de reële economie, dreigt er vanaf 2010 een olietekort. Op 12 november meldde het Internationaal Energie Agentschap dat de komende twee jaar grotere investeringen nodig zijn om te voorkomen dat dit tekort ontstaat. De kredietcrisis, in combinatie met de tijdelijk lage olieprijs, heeft als resultaat dat investeringen in meer olieproductie vertraagd worden. Ook de duurzame energiesector heeft meer moeite in het vinden van voldoende financiering. Woordvoerder R. Koppelaar: “Dat betekent dat een economische opleving extreem moeilijk wordt. Alleen forse ! investeringen in duurzame energie en het beteugelen van de consumptie van olie kan een uitweg bieden”.

Volgens het Internationaal Energie Agentschap zijn de huidige investeringen in de oliewinning maar net voldoende om de olieproductie in de komende zeven jaar op het huidige niveau te houden. Om geen tekort te laten ontstaan zou in de komende twee jaar nog besloten moeten worden over extra investeringen voor het verhogen van de productie van 7 miljoen vaten per dag tegen 2015. De ontwikkelingen in de olie-industrie ten gevolge van de kredietcrisis laten juist het tegenovergestelde zien. Er worden zoveel projecten geschrapte dat de productie tegen 2015 naar schatting 2 miljoen vaten per dag lager uit zal vallen. De sterk opgelopen kosten voor steeds moeilijker bereikbare olie, en de (zeer) lage olieprijs, spelen hier een belangrijke rol in.

Het gevolg van het tekort is dat groei van de economie voor een zeer lange periode op basis van nieuwe olieproductie niet mogelijk is. Dat maakt het realiseren van alternatieven voor aardolie een economische noodzaak. Duurzame energieprojecten hebben echter nog meer last van de kredietcrisis doordat projecten geschrapt worden. Vooral de offshore windsector kampt met problemen omdat banken hun financiering in windprojecten drastisch hebben teruggeschroefd. Zo stapte het Nederlandse bedrijf Econcern recentelijk uit het geplande Britse windpark Sheringham Shoal wegens financieringsproblemen, waardoor de toekomst van het project op losse schroeven is komen te staan.

Jatropha on the rise as RP's alternative fuel - Philippines

2008-11-21T14:48:00.000-08:00

Tacloban City (August 19) -- With the way President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the PNOC-AFC is promoting its production, jatropha is now on the rise as one of the country's alternative fuel, which will cut down fossil fuel imports, boost environment-friendly vehicle emissions and provide employment and alternative livelihood opportunity to people in the rural communities.

In her State of the Nation Address on July 28, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo announced that Jatropha estates are starting in 900 hectares in and around Tamlang Valley in Negros Oriental; 200 in Camarines Sur; 300 in General Santos; 500 in Fort Magsaysay near the Cordero Dam and 700 in Samar, among others.

On the eve of her 8th State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA), President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inspected the Jatropha Mega Nursery and Plantation at Fort Magsaysay, the headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, drawing attention to the priority her administration is giving to the propagation of jatropha as an alternative fuel source.

It would be recalled that it was in this headquarters of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army (PA) on June 3, 2006 that the President endorsed jatropha (tuba-tuba) as a biofuel alternative to fossil fuel.

The five-hectare nursery with about 250 hired workers, is touted to be the biggest among the jatropha nurseries set up by the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) in military camps all over the country, in order to spearhead the accelerated propagation, utilization and commercialization of alternative fuels in the country.

PNOC-AFC Chairman Renato Velasco has been "silently but surely" working, going all over the country in order to advocate the production of jatropha. Early this year, he obliged an invitation in Basey, Samar where the entire community has been mobilized in order to product more jatropha seedlings in their own backyards and in the 13 hectares land under the partnership of the LGU-DENR management.

In San Roque, Northern Samar, a Korean Company has started jatropha production and invested so much in order to accelerate jatropha production in this part of the country.

Worth mentioning is the fact that several local government units have already identified portions of government lands for jatropha production and have laid out road maps for jatropha production.

The bright future of the jatropha biodiesel is boosted by the fact that government agencies and government owned and controlled corporations along with government financial agencies are all lending a hand to make way for the rising of the jatropha biodiesel.

For one, the Landbank of the Philippines has announced last year that it has set aside P10 billion for jatropha production involving 200,000 hectares of land in Mindanao.

Financing will be made available to farmer groups through rural banks as loan conduits and possibly through Land Bank accredited cooperatives.

This is further enhanced by the previous announcements of PNOC-AFC Board Chairman Renato S. Velasco that PNOC-AFC will soon establish mobile refineries to process extracted or crude jatropha oil.

With a little more push from all the concerned sectors and with a little more cooperation and support from everybody, the Arroyo Administration's energy-independence agenda which hopes to make the country 60-percent energy self-sufficient by 2010, will be achieved.

UN Report Points to Bioenergy for West African Nations

2008-11-15T00:30:00.001-08:00

Monday, November 10, 2008

The United Nations Foundation, the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development, and the Energy and Security Group has released a report that emphasizes the opportunities that bioenergy could offer in West Africa; economically and environmentally.

“Sustainable Bioenergy Report in UEMOA Member Countries” has found that host country investments in bioenergy can reduce the exposure of West African countries to high food and oil prices and open up new economic opportunities in clean energy development. Realistic policies for bioenergy production would allow those hard hit by food crisis and rising oil prices – like Benin, Burkina-Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo – to reduce poverty and the impact of climate change.

“With the right public policies in place and the blueprint for action included in the report, UEMOA countries can harness that potential and win the fight against both rural poverty and climate change,” said Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, Executive Director of the Rural Hub.

One of the main problems facing these countries is the dependency on oil imports, although the nations contain enough arable land and forests to cultivate sufficient foodstocks and harvest biomass to produce bioenergy. However, less than 2% of this land is irrigated and is subject to the mercy of erratic weather patterns. Since about 70% of the population depends on agricultural or forestry-related jobs, tapping into this resource would raise employment levels and in turn, increase their economic stability and independence.

“Achieving the Millennium Development Goals demands well-integrated agricultural and energy policies if progress is to be sustained,” said Kandeh K. Yumkella, Director-General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. “It is my hope that this report provides a new view of the potential of agriculture to help millions of Africans get out of the dark and out of poverty.”

U.N. report: Biodiesel creates jobs worldwide

2008-11-14T01:05:00.000-08:00

By Ryan C. Christiansen

Web exclusive posted Sept. 30, 2008 at 12:44 p.m. CST

As global biodiesel production rose to 2.1 billion gallons in 2007, the biodiesel industry worldwide helped create thousands of jobs. However, according to a United Nations Environment Program report published Sept. 24 and titled “Green Jobs: Towards Decent work in a Sustainable, Low-Carbon World,” in many parts of the world, the jobs that have been created are not decent jobs.

Oilseed crops that can be used for biodiesel production in developing countries hold the most promise for job creation because the oilseeds must typically be harvested manually rather than with the help of machinery. According to the U.N., harvesting castor oil requires 12 workers for every 10 acres of castor, harvesting jatropha requires 10 workers, harvesting palm oil requires 8 workers, and harvesting soybeans requires 3 workers.

India’s National Biodiesel Program estimates that a jatropha farm might provide 20 person-days of employment per acre over the long haul. Of these oilseed crops, palm oil is the main feedstock currently used in Malaysia and Indonesia’s biodiesel production and for many palm oil plantation workers, the wages are low, the working conditions are often extremely poor, and their rights are suppressed, according to the U.N. report. It’s estimated that 500,000 people, many of them Indonesian migrant workers, are employed in the palm oil production industry in Malaysia, the largest producer. Indonesia is planning a major expansion in palm oil production and, according to the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, is projecting some 3.5 million new plantation jobs by 2010.

La Jatropha alza el vuelo

2008-11-13T23:46:00.000-08:00

Ecoperiódico | Biocombustibles, Noticias
Tags | aviación, jatropha
La Jatropha alza el vuelo

Publicado el 13 Noviembre 2008 por Arnau Fuentes

Boeing y las líneas aéreas neozelandesas han anunciado su primer vuelo de prueba con biocombustibles de segunda generación para el próximo 3 de Diciembre.

La prueba se realizará con un 747 de Air New Zealand que partirá desde Auckland, en el que uno de los cuatro motores funcionará parcialmente con biocombustible.
Los vuelos de prueba realizados hasta la fecha han sido utilizando combustibles de “primerageneración”, provenientes de cultivos existentes.

En el vuelo en Nueva Zelanda, el combustible será a partir de semillas de Jatropha, una planta que no es apta para consumo humano y que crece en entornos áridos o semi-áridos. Para el Director de Estratégia Medioambiental de Boeing, Billy Glover,

Este combustible no solamente concuerda con los objetivos clave para la próxima generación de combustible de aviación, si no que los supera: un rendimiento de los cultivos superior al esperado, un punto de congelación muy bajo y una buena densidad energética.

Para Rolls Royce, el fabricante de los motores de aviación, la mezcla del biocombustible de jatropha apenas será distinguible del combustible tradicional.

Boeing, Air New Zealand: Bald erster Flug mit Biotreibstoff

2008-11-12T14:48:00.000-08:00

CR Competence BioAm 3. Dezember wird der weltweit erste Testflug mit nachhaltigem Biotreibstoff der zweiten Generation stattfinden.

Die 747-400 wird in Neuseeland starten und die Rolls-Royce RB211 Triebwerke mit einer Mischung der Purgiernuss (Jatroph curcas) an- treiben. Für den Flug haben ANZ, Boeing, Rolls und UOP zusammen gearbeitet.

Die Samen der Purgiernuss ent- halten ein ungeniessbares lipides Öl, das UOP erfolgreich erfolgreich zu einem Biotreibstoff umwandeln konnte. Der Treibstoff basiert auf Purgiernuss Rohöl, das in einem 50:50 Verhältnis mit Kerosin gemischt wird. Chris Lewis, Treibstoffspezialist von Rolls, sagte, die Mischung habe hervorragen- de Eigenschaften und übertreffe teilweise die zurzeit gebräuchlichen Flugzeugtreibstoffe.

Das Öl der Purgiernuss stammt aus dem Südosten Afrikas und Indien. Die Unternehmen achteten darauf, dass der Treibstoff gesellschaft- lich, technisch und wirtschaftlich überzeugt und nachhaltig und umweltfreundlich angebaut wird.

Biofuels a potential tool for social development

2008-11-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

By: Liam Morrison
Published: 31 Oct 08 - 0:00

The biofuels industry will have a greater benefit for Southern Africa if it is used as a tool for social development rather than as a means to replace the region's dependency on crude oil, said Citizens United for Renewable Energy and Sustainability (CURES) Southern African coordinator Annie Sugrue.

Speaking at the Protecting the Future of the Biofuels Industry in Southern Africa Conference, held in Pretoria this month, Sugrue said the biofuels industry has many agendas, from fuel replacement to profits, and this situation needs to change if the Southern African Development Community (SADC) wants to prosper in the future.

She says the primary goal of the biofuels industry should be economic and social development. A by-product of that development would be lower emissions from the burning of such fuels.

Her comments come on the back of the World Bank's research paper entitled ‘Rising Food and Fuel Prices - Addressing the Risks to Future Generations' in which it states that countries must build sounder and more comprehensive social protection systems over the medium term. Investing in better safety nets will protect the poor from the worst consequences of the rise in food and fuel prices and increase the range of options at governments' disposal to cope with future crises.

The production and use of biofuels has been identified as one way that the SADC region can make foreign exchange savings and rather spend money on creating productive small-scale farming, land reform and for further developing farming methods that reduce fossil fuel inputs, says Sugrue

It is estimated that Africa could provide one-quarter of the projected total world bioenergy potential by 2050 if managed properly, says Stellenbosch University's Emile van Zyl, who is also a research fellow at the Chair of Energy Research (CoER): Biofuels and other alternative clean fuels.

Making use of this potential would enable Africa to produce a substantial amount of its own energy, giving it greater control of the supply chain feeding its own energy requirements.

Sugrue said that biofuels' role should be to stimulate local agricultural production at a community level by providing a larger market, which will allow greater revenue for farmers. It will generate employment and fund community development.

Brazil has achieved what Sugrue is hoping the SADC will achieve. For the past 35, years it has been producing biofuels from sugar cane farmed on 7-million hectares of non-forest land. It does not rely on crude oil for fuel and has empowered thousands of communities with its sugar plantations, fermentation plants and fuel refineries.

Energy is linked to economic and social development and productive energy is the driving force behind an economy. Sugrue suggested that the SADC should rather invest in using its current energy supplies more efficiently and in a way that contributes to social development, suggesting public transport as a more efficient use of energy than private cars running biofuel.

She also dismissed the idea that biofuels should primarily be used to reduce carbon emissions, stating that it is an inefficient method of capturing carbon.

Sugrue and Van Zyl, in each of their presentations to the conference, discussed a method of carbon capture using biochar (see sidebar), which can sequestrate a substantial amount of carbon from the atmosphere. However, both still acknowledged that the contribution that biofuels can make towards reducing greenhouse gases cannot be overlooked.

It was widely agreed at the conference that the SADC has the potential to empower itself into the future through farming biofuel crops and refining biofuels. The SADC's export potential is substantial. Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Malawi all have great fuel crop potential, more so than South Africa owing to their greater abundance of arable land and subtropical climates .

However, there are hurdles to overcome.

If the SADC wants to supply fuel to markets in the European Union (EU) then the fuels will need to meet EU criteria, standards and specification, which have yet to be specified.

Also, there are certification costs involved in such exports, which could be avoided if the fuel crop oil is exported before it is refined into fuel, however the SADC then would need to purchase the refined fuel, negating the gains made from exporting the base oil.

The delegates at the conference agreed that what the region needs is an integrated and all- encompassing biofuels policy outlining the whole biofuels process, from land-use policies, farming practices and fuel crops planted to the refining technologies used and the eventual marketing of the fuels.

Only when the SADC has a policy governing biofuels projects can the individual States look to their own projects and legislations.

BioFuels as an Economic Development Tool

2008-11-12T14:20:00.000-08:00

Johanna Mendelson Forman on biofuel-based distributed energy as a tool for alleviating rural poverty. Mrs Mendelson is senior associate at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS.org)

November 04, 2008

Johanna Mendelson Forman is an expert in Latin American economic development and in this address to the Set America Free conference in Chicago she discusses how the encouragement of biofuel development in the Caribbean and impoverished regions of Central and South America could help alleviate rural poverty and all the ills that go with it, from lack of lights to read by at night to lack of refrigeration for much needed vaccines.

As a Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, she understands the security implications of a prosperous Caribbean basin for the United States and is actively working to encourage biofuel production in nations like Haiti.

She notes in her opening that one-in-four people on the planet have no access to electricity from a grid, and that no one talks about the linkage between "energy poverty" and all of the attendant problems typically associated with the developing world from childhood infectious diseases to illiteracy.

"If you have no power, you can't use a water pump," she notes. "If you have no power, you can't refrigerate drugs, you can't refrigerate food. People get sick. If you have not power, you can't preserve vaccines.

"If you have no lights, children can't go to school... You can't sit up at night [to study]."

She said that it costs about ten to twenty thousand dollars to build a transmission line.

"What is the solution outside of urban areas?' she asks. In the remainder of this 15-minute video she discusses some of our options, starting with the creation of distributed energy systems, based on local biofuel production like Jatropha curcas, an oil-rich, subtropical shrub that is being widely grown now in India, Africa and increasingly in Central America and the Caribbean.