Asian Biofuels development: China, Malaysia, Thailand, jatropha and cassava in focus

The Wall Street Journal published a round-up of Asian biofuel development. The report said that there were 45 approved ethanol projects in Thailand, with a total capacity of more than 1000 Mgy. More than half of the projects utilize cassava as a feedstock and those account for at least 700 Mgy in capacity.

The report also pointed out that China, which established an E10 mandate in 2002 for nine provinces, has not extended the mandate, in part because of shortages of feedstocks.

Malaysia has announced a 5 percent blending mandate, but delayed implementation until palm oil prices fall below $590, which is unlikely in the next few years.

The report quoted an FAO study which showed that cassava ethanol could be produced for $45 per barrel, compared to $43 for jatropha biodiesel, $45 for sugar cane ethanol, from corn, $83 for corn ethanol; and $122 for soybean diesel. The last four figures came from a recent report from Morgan.

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