Daily Biofuels Summary for October 8: Relief on palm oil prices possible; 2050 energy outlook published

Top Story: In Malaysia, a report by TransGraph projected that palm oil futures in Malaysia could fall as much as 4.7 percent by the end of October due to increased production in India. Price points were $723 per metric ton. Indonesia and Malaysia produce 85% of the world’s palm oil, and are expected to increase production to 35.2 million metric tons in 2008, versus 32.4 million tons in 2007. India produced 16 million metric tons of oil from seeds, primarily from peanuts and soybean.

Producer News: In Michigan, the CEO of ConocoPhillips indicated his company’s strong focus on transforming from an oil and gas company into an “energy company”, highlighting investment in wind, solar, and biofuels projects….In North Dakota, a $3.7 million ethanol subsidy fund may be tapped if falling producer prices for ethanol go as low as $1.30 per gallon. Ethanol is trading at $1.70, down from nearly $2.50 a year ago….In Pennsylvania, a proposed ethanol plant will use next-generation techniques to mitigate noise, improve air quality, and use more renewable fuel sources in its process. The 60 Mgy Northeast Ethanol and Renewable Resources ethanol plant will reduce atmospheric emissions by more than 90 percent, use 25 percent less thermal energy and 50 percent less water, and reduce noise at 100 feet to the level of a television….In North Carolina, local producers and officials are confident of reaching the 10% state biofuel mandate for 2017 without experiencing the distribution problems encountered in the Midwest. The state’s focus on biodiesel production, which can be shipped using existing fuel pipelines, was a positive factor in meeting the state’s production and consumption goals….More information emerged regarding the 100,000 gallon per acre projections from Vertigro for its algae-based biodiesel production system developed by Valcent. A round-up article profiled Vertigro, and new efforts at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on algae-based biodiesel research, which was cancelled in 1996.

International News: In India, Dollex Industries and Madhya Pradesh government have signed an agreement for a $26 million investment in an integrated agro-energy complex for sugar processing, and ethanol and power generation.

Research News: A report by Princeton researcher Lian Pin Koh, published in Conservation Biology, projected the amount of new cultivation that would be required to support future biodiesel demand. The study projected land loss as high as 114.2 million hectares for soy-based biodiesel, to as low as 400,000 hectares for oil palm….The World Energy Council issued its 2050 Transport Technologies and Policy Study, which projected that 15% of vehicles in 2020 will be plug-in hybrid vehicles, a major role for biofuels, and a “foothold” for hydrogen fuel and fuel cell vehicles by 2035.

Policy and Policymakers: In Oregon, a debate looms over state biofuel energy policy as the state looks at mandates to support small-scale local production of biofuels, or embracing lower-cost mass production and importation. Small-scale producers have experienced problems in meeting production targets.

Consumer and Fleet News: In Illinois, the City of Northbrook has been chosen as the launching pad for a statewide brand promotion of E10 and E85, mounted by the The Illinois Corn Marketing Board (ICMB), the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council (EPIC), the American Lung Association of Illinois and the Illinois Petroleum Marketers Association.

Financial News: On Friday, the Biofuels Digest Index, a basket of public biofuels stocks, rose 0.95% to close at 98.26. VeraSun was up 5.53% to $11.26 as investor sentiment continued to turn around for the pure-play ethanol company. Among other pure-plays, Aventine Renewables (AVR) was up 1.73% to $10.02 while Pacific Ethanol fell 2.04% to $9.11.

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