Cassava shortage in China leads to 80 percent cut in ethanol projections

In China, the province of Guangxi said that a cassava (tapioca) shortage may lead it to curtail ethanol production projections for this year, and have cast doubt on the province’s plans to double production by 2010. Provincial officials originally set a production goal of 1 million tons of ethanol but is looking now at a best-case scenario of 200,000 tonnes.

Overall, China country produced 264 million gallons of ethanol, but recently imposed a moratorium on corn ethanol production because of the impact on corn prices, focusing investment on cassava, sorghum and sugarcane.

The Chinese government is drafting biodiesel blend standards and is expected to impose a 5 percent blending target by the end of the year, according to reports, and is looking at potential target dates for a 10 percent mandate. The government set a consumption target of 200,000 tons of biodiesel for 2010 and 2 million tons for 2020. China established an E10 mandate in 2002 for nine provinces, but has not extended the mandate, in part because of shortages of feedstocks.

The Worldwatch Institute released a report on China’s renewable energy policies, projecting that China may surpass its target of producing 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2020. The report noted that China planned investment of $10 billion in renewables in 2007, more than any other country except Germany. Global renewable energy investment was $50 billion in 2006. China is the market leader in solar hot water and small hydro projects.

Last month in Shaghai, fuel riots began because of shortages.

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