Daily Biofuels Summary for November 5: Ethanol group launches pro-mandate ad campaign, as feedstock price hikes force plant closings, conversion trial halts

Top Story:

A new US ethanol industry coalition, Renewable Fuels Now, is launching an advertising campaign that will run in Capitol Hill-oriented publications such as The Hill and Roll Call, in support of an increased ethanol mandate. The coalition, which includes the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association, has hired New York PR firm Manning Selvage & Lee as its strategic counsel.

Producer News:

In Vermont, Mascoma has received approval from the Vermont Economic Progress Council for $1.7 million in job creation incentives if it relocates to the state. Mascoma, a cellulosic ethanol research and development firm, has outgrown its current  facilities in Cambridge, MA and Lebanon, NH.

In Georgia, Range Fuels will break ground Tuesday on its new 100 Mgy cellulosic ethanol plant in Treutlen County.  Wood waste from timber mills using the state’s millions of acres of indigenous Georgia Pine will be the main source of biomass for the ethanol production. The company’s system, named K2, uses a two step thermo-chemical conversion process. The first step converts the biomass to synthetic gas and the second step converts the gas to ethanol. The first phase of construction is expected to be completed at the end of 2008.  In February, Range Fuels received a $76 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for its cellulosic ethanol activities.

In Nebraska, Green World Energy Corporation (GWEC) invested $15 million for a 20 percent stake in US Canadian Biofuels, a subsidiary of Agri Energy, a Sydney-based biofuels concern. GWEC is a California-based alternative energy group recently established to invest in green energy projects in the US and internationally. Agri Energy is constructing a biodiesel plant at Beatrice, NE.

International News:

In India, Rusni Distilleries is planning to double its sweet sorghum ethanol capacity to 8 Mgy in March 2008, and Ultimate Bio Fuels has announced a 19 Mgy sweet sorghum facility in Visakhapatnam. The completion of the projects will increase India’s sweet sorgum ethanol capacity to 38 Mgy.

In Haiti, a group of Brazilian jatropha growers agreed to finance a pilot jatropha program near Port-au-Prince. “It has the potential, because it can be grown virtually anywhere, of creating a really positive economic impact in rural Haiti,” said Kathleen Robbins, a Haitian development promoter.  Robbins said that jatropha could become a cash crop for Haitiain exports, or supply electricity locally for communities which are not part of the electric grid. The three-year maturation process for jatropha seedlings is a barrier for local growers, who will likely produce vegetable crops side by side during the jatropha maturation process.

In the Philippines, the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP) and Chemrez Technologies announced that test batches of jatropha biodiesel have met the major international standards used in the US and Europe. TUP was responsible for oil extraction, while Chemrez performed the esterization process that converts the oil to biodiesel. The resulting product, in testing, met the specifications of both EN 14214 (Europe) and ASTM D6751 (US). The seeds were provided by PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corporation,  the biofuels division of state-owned oil company PNOC.

In Australia, the last biodiesel plants in operation are closing down due to excessive feedstock costs and low biodiesel prices. The Australian Renewable Fuels tallow-based biodiesel plants in Bunbury and Adelaide are winding down, according to the company’s owners. “We need government support in the form of consideration of possible imposition of mandates for the use of biodiesel, we need governments to step up and recognise the benefits obtained for people and the environment and instead of using fossil fuels alone to recognise that biodiesel needs a market of its own,” said the plant’s acting General manager Max Ger. http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/11/05/2082047.htm?section=business

In India, the managing director of PMTCL in Pune said that a biodiesel trial would be discontinued due to high producer prices for biodiesel feedstock. The 100-bus trial of B20 was canceled after the lowest bid for B20 was $4.12 per gallon, compared to $3.36 per gallon for diesel.

Research News:

In Arizona, Arizona State University announced a partnership with BP and Science Foundation Arizona to develop photosynthetic bacterium to produce biodiesel.  The microbes use only solar energy and a controlled environment, which can be established in Arizona’s desert lands.

Policy and Policymakers:

In Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick is expected to announce a biofuels policy aimed at increasing biofuels investment in the state. The Governor said last week that the plan will center around cellulosic ethanol, utilizing feedstocks such as algae, switchgrass and cranberries which can be grown in Massachusetts.

Consumer and Fleet News:

In Detroit, GM vice chairman Bob Lutz said that Chevrolet would be the company’s flagship “green” brand and that details of the new plan to challenge Toyota’s technology and image leadership would be released next week at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Financial News:

The Biofuels Digest Index™, a basket of public biofuels stocks, fell 0.31 percent Friday to close at 102.89. Losers led winners by sa slight margin. Diversified agribusiness The Andersons was down 1.07 percent to close at $46.04, while pure-play ethanol stocks generally rose led by Pacific Ethanol which climbed 6.79 percent to $8.02 after a steady fall in recent weeks.  Among small-caps, Better Biodiesel continued to slide, with shares falling 23.47 percent to $0.75.

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