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TREASURY RELEASES USD 550M MORE IN CLEAN ENERGY PROJECT STIMULUS GRANTS

2009-09-29T03:17:00Z

The US Treasury and Energy departments have disclosed USD 550m more in economic stimulus grants for renewables projects with developers Iberdrola, Eurus, and Eon all receiving significant funding.

Iberdrola received USD 251m to support three projects it has developed -- the 160MW Barton wind in Iowa, the 146MW Farmers’ City wind in Missouri, and the 120MW Barton Chapel wind in Texas. The funds come on top of the nearly USD 300m received by the Spanish power giant earlier from Treasury and DOE.

Other large grants went to the North American subsidiary of German power giant Eon, which received USD 122m for its 249MW Roscoe wind project and the North American subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eurus Energy Holdings, which received USD 91.4m for its 180MW Bull Creek wind project.

DOE and Treasury are awarding the grants on a rolling basis, but have disclosed them via two public announcements to date. 　The first group of projects revealed by the agencies earlier this month received just over USD 500m, meaning the federal government has now disbursed well over USD 1bn in grants to renewables projects since the grant rules were finalized in July.

The latest list of grant recipients included　significant geothermal, landfill gas and biomass projects. Italian power producer Enel received USD 61.5m for its 33MW Salt Wells and 40MW Stillwater geothermal projects in Nevada. Tennessee-based Ameresco received USD 11.7m for a small landfill gas-to-energy project in Missouri and two others in California. Texas-based Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers received USD 10.2m for its 16MW biomass project, which uses sugar cane bagasse. The remaining USD 2.7m went to 14 small renewable energy projects in 10 states.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced the second round of funding after an economic stimulus review meeting at the White House. Geithner said, "Not only are our recovery dollars meeting an immediate funding need among innovative companies, they are also jumpstarting private sector investment in communities across the country – with benefits for the renewable energy industry and our economy alike."

Chu said the grants programme has allowed large developers like Iberdrola, Enel and Eon to reinvest in new projects sooner than they would have otherwise and called the grants, "crucial to ensuring America can compete and win in the race for the clean energy jobs of the future."

While Chu and Geithner were at the White House announcing grant winners, President Barack Obama was at the United　Nations in New York touting his administration's commitment to fighting climate change. Among other things, Obama highlighted the renewable energy spending contained in the economic stimulus package, the Environmental Protection Agency’s recently proposed automobile fuel economy standards, and the energy and climate bill passed by the House of Representatives’ last spring as evidence of the US focus on climate change.

"But," Obama added, "though many of our nations have taken bold action and share in this determination, we did not come here to celebrate progress today. We came here because there’s much progress to be made." He said developed nations like the US should lead the effort to reduce emissions but that developing nations must do their part too, and grouped China in with the US as nations that should provide financial and technical assistance to smaller developing countries.

Obama did not provide any new details on his administration’s renewable energy and energy efficiency plans but said that he looks forward to working with Congress as it advances climate legislation this fall, though he acknowledged that the task will continue to be difficult. "As we head towards Copenhagen," Obama said, "there should be no illusions that the hardest part of our journey is in front of us. We seek sweeping but necessary change in the midst of a global recession, where every nation's most immediate priority is reviving their economy and putting their people back to work."

The relevant committees in the US Senate are slated to continue work on the cap-and-trade portion of the energy and climate later this month but leading Democrats in the chamber have sought to dampen expectations that a final bill will clear the full chamber by the end of 2009.

NEF "FIRST TAKE":

The grant programme appears to be hitting its stride with DOE and Treasury rapidly turning around applications and pushing money out the door. With this announcement officials appeared to take extra care to avoid taking credit for literally spurring the development of the projects that received funding. For good reason -- at least two of the receiving projects were on line before the economic stimulus bill was even signed into law. That said, there is evidence in the marketplace that the grants are being to put to good use in funding new development and new projects. With this announcement, the administration could again come under some fire from critics on the right for doling out too much to overseas-owned firms. Approximately 70% of the first USD 502m in grants went to Iberdrola and several other foreign companies. This time, Iberdrola again picked up major funding along with Eon, Eurus, and Enel. For their part, renewables advocates can justifiably point out that the jobs created by these projects are mostly local, regardless of ownership. One way or the other, the phenomenon of providing US public funding to overseas-owned projects will not end anytime soon. It will continue to raise hackles among industry critics and could eventually prove politically problematic for the clean energy sector.

Aviation Industry Vows To Slash Emissions

2009-09-23T14:32:00Z

11:28am UK, Tuesday September 22, 2009

The aviation industry says it will halve its carbon emissions by 2050.

The aviation industry is responsible for 1.6% of global emissions

BA chief executive Willie Walsh called on world leaders to support what he called an "unprecedented agreement'" between airlines.

The deal, backed by airports and aircraft companies, will be presented to world leaders at the UN's climate summit in New York by Mr Walsh.

The move will mean travellers will have to pay more for their airfares.

And it is also likely to trigger a race for green technologies among aviation companies as they look for efficient ways of running their fleets of aircraft.

The G20 is meeting in America this week in an attempt to lay down the foundations for the replacement of the Kyoto protocol.

The move to cut emissions by the International Air Transport Association is thought to be an attempt to head off criticism by environmental groups ahead of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December.

The aviation industry is responsible for 1.6% of global emissions of greenhouse gases.
It will become the biggest emitter in the developed world if it continues to grow at its current rate.

The Committee on Climate Change warned the Government this month that aviation will produce a quarter of all emissions in the developed world even if they are capped at 2005 levels by 2050.

The (IATA) says it will reduce net carbon dioxide emissions by 50% by 2050, compared with 2005 levels; to make all industry growth carbon-neutral by 2020.

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CLIMATE CHANGE: A New Chapter in Global Diplomacy?

2009-09-10T04:58:00Z

Source http://www.indepthnews.net/news/news.php?key1=2009-08-30%2020:31:59&key2=1

Some experts in Africa want about 200 billion U.S. dollars a year in compensation for the effects of climate change.

BY JAYA RAMACHANDRAN

IDN-InDepth News Service

BERLIN (IDN) - India, China and 53 African countries – together home to more than half of the world's population -- have opened what may turn out to be a new chapter in the history of international climate diplomacy as the clock ticks down to Copenhagen.

While India and China comprising about 37 percent of the global population have decided to join forces to push for an agreement at the landmark UN conference on global warming coming December, Africa will be represented in Copenhagen by one cohesive delegation spearheaded by the Conference of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC).

The African delegation, representing some 970 million people, will consist of the chairperson of the African Union (AU), senior government ministers of Ethiopia, Algeria, Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda. The delegation will also include the chairperson of the African Ministerial Conference on Environment, the chairperson of the AU Commission, and technical negotiators on climate change from member states.

The Conference of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change agreed Aug. 24 in Addis Ababa that the African Union demand US$67 billion per year from the global community in compensation for the effects of climate change. The annual sum would be spent on establishing science-guided projects to help with adaptation and mitigation, reports SciDev.Net.

The not-for-profit London-based Science and Development Network said after being endorsed by the African heads of state at their two-day meeting Aug. 30-31 in Tripoli, Libya, the demand would be tabled at the UN conference in Copenhagen Dec. 7-18.

As SciDev.Net reported, the figure of US$67 billion a year has been debated for some time, including at African Union (AU) summits in February and July of this year, gaining prominence at the Nairobi, Kenya, meeting of African ministers of environment earlier this year. The payments would need to be achieved by 2020, the Addis Ababa conference agreed.

CENTRES OF EXCELLENCE

At the meeting in the Ethiopian capital, some delegates called for the sum to be nearer US$200 billion a year, representing Africa's share of the four per cent of global GDP (Gross Domestic Product) which, it is argued, should be spent on adaptation and mitigation worldwide.

Delegates said they would like to see the money go towards establishing centres of excellence on climate change. The AU will push for compensation through technology transfer and capacity-building, rather than cash.

The AU wants individual countries to use the money to carry out national plans of action, which mostly consist of finding ways to use efficient technologies in the energy, agriculture and water management sectors, as well as obtaining intellectual property rights for these technologies

The South African representative at the meeting, Judy Beaumont, said that the amount required for adaptation programmes globally is more than US$400 billion and that at least half of this should go to projects in Africa, Kimani Chege of SciDev.Net wrote in an article published Aug. 27 in allafrica.com

Beaumont added that Africa needs low-carbon technologies, energy-efficiency projects and renewable-energy technologies, which have previously remained elusive because of a lack of affordable financing and difficulty in obtaining intellectual property rights.

"This is not about begging for cash but the urge for a common but differentiated responsibility," Beaumont pointed out. "Most developed countries took a dirty route to development, and Africa cannot take the same route."

"WE WANT AN AGREEMENT"

In an interview Aug. 25 in Beijing, where he met with Xie Zhenhua, China's top climate change negotiator, India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said India and China should not be viewed as a "negative or obstructionist force". He said: "Both of us were of the view that we should be part of the solution. We want an agreement in Copenhagen."

Ramesh rejected calls for binding carbon emission-reduction targets to be placed on developing countries such as India, and reiterated the country's stance that developed countries should reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. U.S. climate-change legislation passed by the House sets the goal of a 17 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2020.

Should developed countries agree to India's stance, which Chinese Foreign Ministry climate-change official Yu Qingtai earlier this month called "quite fair," India and China would have to “respond very positively," Ramesh said in an interview with Bloomberg News.

India and China are looking for developed countries to share more carbon-reducing technologies with poorer nations and help finance projects, Ramesh said. Both countries say their economic development would be unfairly hurt if they were forced to accept binding greenhouse-gas emission reduction targets.

A DEVELOPMENT ISSUE

“For us, climate change is not just an environmental issue, for us, climate change is a development issue," Ramesh said.

On August 24, Xie, a vice minister of China’s National Development and Reform Commission, said “the focus of disagreement remains on each country’s proportion of responsibility for emissions reductions, funding and technology transfer," the official China Xinhua News Agency reported.

Emerging economies, including India, have said they need access to funds and technologies such as wind turbines to meet emission curbs and sustain growth. India requires $5 billion a year between 2012 and 2017, in addition to its current investment plans, to support a transition to low-carbon energy generation, the United Nations Development Program said in its Human Development Report 2007/2008, citing research by the Energy and Resources Institute.

Ramesh said he and Xie discussed the idea of when their two countries’ carbon emissions would peak. Mid-August, China released a report from government-run think tanks estimating that the country’s emissions would peak by 2030. The report also recognized that China had surpassed the U.S. to become the world’s biggest producer of greenhouse gases.

The government in Beijing says it is increasing energy efficiency and promoting the use of renewable power to cut the amount of energy it consumes per unit of gross domestic product 20 percent by 2010 from 2005 levels.

India says it has one of the lowest carbon emissions per capita in the world and is responsible for 4 percent of output while the U.S. is responsible for 20 percent. The South Asian country is the fourth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels, trailing China, the U.S. and Russia.

Developed countries must bear “historic responsibility" for industrial emissions of greenhouse gases they have produced, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on July 7. “It is the developing countries that are the worst affected by climate change."

CHINA GETS READY

Meanwhile China is considering putting climate legislation on its legislative agenda, according to a draft resolution on climate change, which has been submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), reports China Daily.

"China will draw up new laws and regulations to provide a legal basis for combating climate change," said Wang Guangtao, director of the NPC's environment and resource protection committee. The resolution shows good coordination between the government and legislative body in advance of the Copenhagen meeting, said Yang Fuqiang, director of global climate change solutions at environmental group WWF. "Once the government signs the new treaty, the NPC will ratify it," he said.

The United States is the only developed country that has not ratified the climate pact. "The former U.S. president signed the Kyoto Protocol back in 1997, but when the official delegation came back with the treaty, the Senate refused to ratify it," Yang said.

Also, once the proposed climate change laws are worked out, China will have "legally binding actions" to fight the illegal emissions, said Zhang Jianyu, China program head of the U.S.-based Environmental Defense Fund.

"China already has a bunch of laws and regulations related to climate change and environmental protection, but the climate legislation will give the forces fighting global warming more legal power," Zhang said. Existing laws and regulations related to climate change and environment protection should be revised to better combat global warming, according to the draft resolution, he said. (IDN-InDepthNews/30.08.09)

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U.S. Navy Plans to Test Biofuels for Super Hornet

2009-09-02T14:36:00Z

The U.S. Navy is getting ready to run flight tests using an assortment of biofuels. The tests will be run using an F/A-18 Super Hornet. The tests are scheduled to begin taking place at Patuxent River, Md. by spring or summer 2010. The idea is to create a drop-in system so that those in the field won't know the difference.

The biofuels being tested are camelina, jatropha and algae. Navy.mil reports on the process expected to be used:

August 21st, 2009 by Miranda Marquit

For the upcoming static and flight tests, the biofuels will be mixed in a 50-50 blend with conventional petroleum-derived jet fuel to provide the necessary specification properties. Biofuels are not as dense as conventional jet fuel, have less lubricating ability and contain no aromatic compounds, a group of chemical compounds able to penetrate the rubberlike materials that make up gaskets and seals.

The Navy hopes to test properties and chemistry, seeing how the fuels react in the environments associated with high-speed military plans. The tests should be able to determine whether or not it is feasible to use biofuels as part of the fuel source for jet planes. The hope is that the most promising candidates will be available by 2013.PhysOrg.com

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GLIMPSES OF A POSSIBLE PICK-UP IN CLEAN ENERGY M&A ACTIVITY

2009-09-02T00:58:00Z

For most of this year, mergers and acquisitions have been the dog that did not bark in the clean energy sector. There have been plenty of reasons to expect activity – much lower valuations than in 2007-08, an array of cash-strapped technology firms and developers, and low interest rates for big companies sitting on piles of cash.

However the figures for M&A have been relatively feeble this year. Corporate mergers and acquisitions in the sector totalled USD 2.1bn in the second quarter of 2009, after USD 2.7bn in the first – this compared to USD 21.7bn in the whole of last year.

One reason has been caution. There might have been some cheap takeover targets out there in recent months, but the potential acquirers have been in a risk-averse mood themselves with the financial crisis swirling around them.

Recent days however have brought a few glimmerings of M&A activity, signs perhaps that the rest of this year will see more transactions.

In Brazil, oil colossus Petrobras confirmed that it is in talks with Brenco, one of the top ethanol producers. The former would only say – coyly – that discussions revolve around "identifying possible synergies in the production of biofuels".

The local press has speculated about a full takeover, but a likelier eventuality would seem to be Petrobras taking a stake in Brenco, which was formed in 2007 to invest the Real equivalent of USD 2.4bn in sugar cane processing and ethanol production.

In the emerging but potentially huge market of US carbon, August saw C-Quest Capital, an ambitious investment house founded by industry big name Ken Newcombe, take a significant minority stake in SunOne, a carbon credit aggregator for the US agriculture sector.

More intriguing still, British private equity operator Guy Hands emerged as the buyer, via his firm Terra Firma, of 90% of US project developer Everpower Wind.

The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but Everpower has a 62MW project built and 800MW of "near-term" development assets – so the price is likely to have been several hundred million dollars.

Hands and Terra Firma are best known in the UK for their ownership of EMI, the record label, but have in fact already demonstrated their interest in the clean energy sector via their stewardship of Infinis, the country’s largest renewable-only generator. Infinis has 1GW of installed landfill gas capacity, as well as development assets in wind.

The earlier part of the third quarter of 2009 had already seen plenty of interesting M&A deals. In wind, Daewoo Shipbuilding of Korea bought US turbine maker Dewind for USD 50m and Germanischer Lloyd snapped up wind services firm Garrad Hassan for an estimated USD 100m. There was also Bosch’s purchase of a 40% stake in Germany’s Aleo Solar for USD 66m.

However there has been a lack of big deals, in the hundreds of millions – or billions – of dollars. The only giant transaction foreshadowed for the second half of the year is the possible sale by Italian utility Enel of a minority stake in its Green Power subsidiary for a mooted EUR 3.5bn.

That may take the form of an initial public offering of Enel Green Power shares. But more likely, given the lack of an IPO market this year, Enel could sell the stake directly to institutions – or to a trade buyer.

Source: New Energy Finance [news@newenergyfinance.com]
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Biofuels industry to triple in size by 2020

2009-08-31T00:29:00Z

The biofuels market will reach $247 billion in sales by 2020 according to a report from clean technology consultancy firm Pike Research.
. "The economics of ethanol and biodiesel are not yet competitive with petro fuels, and although governments have pulled back some of their support,　in the 10 to 15 year timeframe, the outlook remains very positive," says Clint Wheelock, managing director of Pike Research.　

The report predicts the combined biodiesel and ethanol markets will more than triple in sales by 2020, up from just $76 billion in 2010 driven by three key waves of next generation biodiesel. Fuels based on waste greases will hit the market first in 2010,　Jatropha-based fuels will begin having a significant impact in 2014, and algae-based biodiesel is expected to be commercially available in 2012 and deepening in 2016.

The report examines the key technologies that will drive the biofuels industry to include second and third generation feedstocks and advanced biorefining techniques.　

This bullish sentiment is echoed throughout the biofuels market and will be driven by three key factors according to Dave Neubauer, vice president and general manager of US power producer Tenaska BioFuels. "Firstly the price of crude oil - if those prices aren't strong, then biofuels will have a tough time competing. Secondly, the legislative climate and the introduction of a renewables fuels standard in US will continue to push biofuels even if it isn't competitive with crude oil; and the third factor will be capital markets and providing enough funds to support the growth of the industry. If all these are favourable then we could see worldwide growth figures like $247 billion," he says.
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http://www.energyrisk.com/public/showPage.html?page=867791 August 2009
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US drives $300m into green city transport initiatives

2009-08-29T17:10:00Z

More than 500 green fuelling stations and 9,000 low-carbon vehicles to be rolled out as part of economic stimulus project

Tom Young, BusinessGreen, 27 Aug 2009

US energy secretary Steven Chu was at it again yesterday, dishing out nearly $300m (£185m) in economic stimulus funding to 25 green transport initiatives across the country.

In the latest in a long line of low-carbon projects to secure stimulus funding, Chu announced plans to roll out a total of 9,000 alternative fuel and energy-efficient vehicles, as well as 542 new green refuelling locations.

The funding will be used to accelerate adoption of a wide range of green vehicle technologies, including hybrids, electric vehicles and plug-in electric hybrids, as well as natural gas and biofuel-powered vehicles and their appropriate fuelling stations.

The US Department of Energy estimated that the measures will help cut fuel demand by about 38 million gallons of petroleum per year.

Chu said the new funding would give local governments the tools they need to build a greener transportation system.

"Advancing the number of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles on the road will increase our energy security, decrease our dependence on oil, and reduce pollution across the country," he added.

The funding will be handed to local government and is expected to be matched twofold by money from project partners in the private sector. For example, in Maryland the Energy Administration received $5.9m to help fund the purchase of 150 hybrid-electric trucks for use by Nestle and UPS, who will also invest in the scheme.

Similarly, both UPS and the government will contribute funds to a publicly accessible liquid natural gas fuel station to be built off Interstate 15 in Las Vegas – a route heavily travelled by UPS vehicles.

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DOE Awards $377M In Funding...

2009-08-21T03:22:00Z

In a major effort to accelerate the scientific breakthroughs needed to build a new 21st-century energy economy, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the delivery of $377M in funding for 46 new multi-million-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) located at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations, and private firms across the nation.

DOE Awards $377M In Funding For 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers

Washington, DC | Posted on August 13th, 2009

"As global energy demand grows, there is an urgent need to reduce our dependence on imported oil and curtail greenhouse gas emissions," said Secretary Chu. "Meeting the challenge to reduce our dependence on imported oil and curtail greenhouse gas emissions will require significant scientific advances. These centers will mobilize the enormous talents and skills of our nation's scientific workforce in pursuit of the breakthroughs that are essential to expand the use of clean and renewable energy."

Of the $377M awarded to the EFRCs, $277M comes from funding made available through the Recovery Act with the remaining $100M made from DOE's FY2009 budget. The 46 EFRCs are being funded at $2-5M per year each for a planned initial five-year period and were selected from a pool of applications received in response to a solicitation issued by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science in 2008 and announced on April 27, 2009. Selection of the EFRCs was based on a rigorous merit review process utilizing outside panels composed of scientific experts. In total, the EFRC initiative represents a planned DOE commitment of $777M over five years.

EFRC researchers will take advantage of new capabilities in nanotechnology, high-intensity light sources, neutron scattering sources, supercomputing, and other advanced instrumentation, much of it developed with DOE Office of Science support over the past decade, in an effort to lay the scientific groundwork for fundamental advances in solar energy, biofuels, transportation, energy efficiency, electricity storage and transmission, clean coal and carbon capture and sequestration, and nuclear energy.

EFRCs funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act include:

* Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ) - $14M for five years to adapt the fundamental principles of natural photosynthesis to the man-made production of hydrogen or other fuels from sunlight.
* University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ) - $15M for five years to enhance the conversion of solar energy to electricity using hybrid inorganic-organic materials.
* University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA) - $19M for five years to discover and develop materials that control the interactions between light, electricity, and heat at the nanoscale for improved solar energy conversion, solid-state lighting, and conversion of heat into electricity.
* Columbia University (New York, NY) - $16M for five years to develop the enabling science needed to realize breakthroughs in the efficient conversion of sunlight into electricity in nanometer sized thin films.
* Cornell University (Ithaca, NY) - $17.5M for five years to understand and control the nature, structure, and dynamics of reactions at electrodes in fuel cells, batteries, solar photovolataics, and catalysts.
* University of Delaware (Newark, DE) - $17.5M for five years to design and characterize novel catalysts for the efficient conversion of the complex molecules comprising biomass into chemicals and fuels.
* Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA) - $19M for five years to understand the transport of charge carriers in synthetic disordered systems, which hold promise as new materials for conversion of solar energy to electricity and electrical energy storage.
* University of Massachusetts (Amherst, MA) - $16M for five years to use novel, self-assembled polymer materials in systems for the conversion of sunlight into electricity.
* University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) - $19.5M for five years to study complex material structures on the nanoscale to identify key features for their potential use as materials to convert solar energy and heat to electricity.
* University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC) - $17.5M for five years to synthesize new molecular catalysts and light absorbers and integrate them into nanoscale architectures for improved generation of fuels and electricity from sunlight.
* Northwestern University (Evanston, IL) - $19M for five years to synthesize, characterize, and understand new classes of materials under conditions far from equilibrium relevant to solar energy conversion, storage of electricity and hydrogen, and catalysis.
* University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN) - $18.5M for five years to understand and control, at the nanoscale, materials that contain actinides (radioactive heavy elements such as uranium and plutonium) to lay the scientific foundation for advanced nuclear energy systems.
* Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA) - $21M for five years to dramatically increase our fundamental knowledge of the physical structure of bio-polymers in plant cell walls to provide a basis for improved methods for converting biomass into fuels.
* Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) - $20M for five years to use fundamental knowledge about the interactions between catalysts and plant cell walls to design improved processes for the conversion of biomass to energy, fuels, or chemicals.
* University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA) - $12.5M for five years to simultaneously explore the light absorbing and emitting properties of hybrid inorganic-organic materials for solar energy conversion and solid state lighting.
* University of Texas, Austin (Austin, TX) - $15M for five years to pursue fundamental research on charge transfer processes that underpin the function of highly promising molecular materials for photovoltaic and electrical energy storage applications.

####

About DOE
The Department of Energy's overarching mission is to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States; to promote scientific and technological innovation in support of that mission; and to ensure the environmental cleanup of the national nuclear weapons complex.

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Jatropha Plantation increases food production

2009-08-12T20:23:00Z

Planting jatropha on depleted soils allowed fertile soil to be ploughed for food

Biofuel Africa, a Ghanaian corporation wholly owned by the Norway-based Solar Harvest, claims to have increased the acreage of land available for food production in Northern Ghana by 880%.

In 2008, 55 acres of the company’s land was planted with food crops grown by 25 local farmers. Tests showed that repeated growing of food crops had depleted this soil of much of its nutritional content.

Biofuel Africa transferred the depleted soil over to jatropha production, offering the farmers instead the chance to relocate to land leased by Biofuel Africa that had not been previously farmed.

BioFuel Africa then cleared and ploughed the land for the farmers, and the farmers themselves planted local staples such as cassava, yam, corn, rice, beans and peanuts. Within a year, this had been increased from 55 acres to 540, all of which was leased cleared and ploughed by Biofuel Africa.

‘We follow what we call our Food First Principle,’ said Steinar Kolnes, CEO and director of BioFuel Africa. ‘That means that food production is always given first priority. When we cultivate crops for jatropha, we simultaneously invest in food production to assure that local farmers and local communities are positively affected by our presence in the area.’

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Jatropha and Jamaica to Produce Biodiesel for the Local Auto Industry

2009-06-10T05:20:00Z

KINGSTON (JIS):
Thursday, June 04, 2009
The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) is exploring the possibility of utilising the seeds of the jatropha plant to produce bio-diesel for the local automotive industry.

Group Managing Director of the PCJ, Dr. Ruth Potopsingh, speaking at a recent Jamaica Institute of Environmental Professionals (JIEP)-organised public lecture and panel discussion at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, said that the Corporation has conducted some research on the jatropha and the findings to date reveal that it is "one of the most productive oil seeds for bio-diesel."

She noted that the entity had looked into the prospects of using castor beans, and experimented with same, pointing out that "we have had very good yields."

"But we have been advised by the Brazilians, who we got the seeds from, that castor oil is not a very good source for bio-diesel, unless it is mixed in with other oils because of its density and cetane levels for meeting bio-diesel or diesel specifications," Dr. Potopsingh outlined. Cetane is a colourless liquid used as a solvent in determining the ignition quality of diesel fuels.

She said that "jatropha, on the other hand, is a better oil that is more compatible for blending in regular petroleum diesel, because we are looking, first, for a B2, a mixture of two per cent bio-fuels, rather than trying to go beyond that. A two per cent mix is acceptable for use in most diesel vehicles. So Jatropha is one of the most recommended oil seeds for bio-diesel production," the PCJ head stated.

She informed that the PCJ has cultivated jatropha seedlings at one of its properties in Font Hill, St. Elizabeth, "which we will be growing under scientific conditions to see how productive they are."

"We are growing the jatropha on marginal soils because there is the whole issue of food security versus energy security, and we have been very mindful not to be targeting soils that can be used for productive agricultural use," Dr. Potopsingh pointed out.
The jatropha plant is native to Central America, where it is grown on plantations, largely in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Over time, it became naturalised in many tropical and sub-tropical countries, including India, Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. Major jatropha projects are being developed in Haiti, with seedlings being cultivated and grown between that country and the Dominican Republic.

When jatropha seeds are crushed, the oil derived can be processed to produce a high-quality bio-diesel, that can be used in a standard car. The resulting residue, commonly known as press cake, can also be processed and used as bio-mass feedstock to power electricity plants, or as a fertiliser in agriculture, as it contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.

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Airlines to achieve CO2-neutral growth by 2020: IATA

2009-06-08T18:44:00Z

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) Mon Jun 8, 2009 3:46am EDT -

The world's airlines have committed to achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020, the head of the global aviation body IATA said on Monday.

"Demand will continue to increase, but any expansion of our carbon footprint will be compensated," Giovanni Bisignani told the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association in the Malaysian capital.

But Bisignani said wide cooperation was needed from allied industries and governments.

"Air navigation service providers must make it possible to fly even more effectively. Fuel companies must supply eco-friendly fuels and governments must give us access to credits in global carbon markets."

Aviation is responsible for about 2 percent of global greenhouse gas pollution and that share is expected to rise.

Bisignani said biofuels had the potential to reduce aviation's carbon footprint by up to 80 percent but he criticized governments for lack of investment in biofuels research.

Governments, particularly the European Union, and leading green groups are demanding the sector clean up its act and the U.N.'s aviation agency, ICAO, has been tasked with crafting global sectoral approach to fighting emissions from planes.

IATA backs a four-pillar strategy that includes investment in technology and positive economic measures, such as carbon trading, and wants emissions dealt with on a global basis to ensure a level playing field for all airlines.

The EU has said aviation emissions will come under the bloc's emissions trading scheme from 2012, a decision that has angered many airlines which feel they will be unfairly saddled with extra costs.

"We must account for emissions at a global level, not by state," said Bisignani.

"Airlines should get carbon credits for every cent they pay whether in taxes, charges or emissions trading scheme payments. We should pay only once, not several times," he added.

He said the aviation industry had made significant commitments with concrete targets, with the first being to improve fuel efficiency by 1.5 percent each year until 2020.

"But we recognize that improved fuel efficiency is not enough. Our emissions must stop growing."

He also attacked governments, particularly Britain, for taxing the airline sector while giving nothing back to green investment.

He said Britain's Air Passenger Duty had increased to 2.7 billion pounds ($4.3 billion).

"It is unacceptable that money collected from our responsible industry in the name of the environment is being used by an irresponsible government to pay inflated MP expense claims or bail out banks."

The aviation body chief said the industry would cut emissions by 7 percent this year, 5 percent because of reduced capacity as a result of the economic crisis and 2 percent as a result of a strategy to reduce emissions.

IATA groups 230 of the world's airlines.

(Reporting by Raju Gopalakrishnan and David Fogarty; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

California wins big as Obama adopts landmark standard on auto emissions

2009-05-19T23:34:00Z

By Frank Davies
Mercury News Washington Bureau

Posted: 05/18/2009 01:40:51 PM PDT

Updated: 05/19/2009 08:27:08 AM PDT

WASHINGTON — In a major victory for California's pioneering environmental standards, the Obama administration today will announce national standards for auto emissions and tougher gas mileage requirements that will sharply improve the efficiency of all vehicles.

The emissions rules will adopt California's standard — long opposed by the auto industry — that by 2016 vehicles emit 30 percent less carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases than they did in 2000, according to a senior administration official during a briefing Monday night.

Obama also plans to accelerate fuel economy targets to 35.5 mpg for all vehicles sold in 2016. That's four years earlier than the goal enacted by Congress two years ago.

The Obama plan is the result of lengthy negotiations between federal officials, the auto industry, California and 14 other states ready to adopt the California standard. As a result of the landmark agreement, the federal government for the first time will regulate greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming.

While California for years has sought a "waiver" to the Clean Air Act to enforce its own standards, California's exception is about to become the nation's rule. The auto industry, which fought hard against California's independent efforts, is dropping its opposition in favor of a consistent national policy.

"This is historic and huge for California," said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for Gov.

Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plans to attend an announcement of the deal today at the White House that will bring together state officials, auto executives and environmental groups.

Schwarzenegger cast a last-minute absentee ballot Monday on the budget measures up for a vote today so he could participate in the White House event today.

The administration is taking the action under a ruling by the Supreme Court in 2007 saying that the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to regulate greenhouse gases. The Department of Transportation has authority over mileage standards, and Obama plans to order that department and the EPA to work together on new rules.

With the crippled U.S. auto industry struggling to survive — Chrysler is in bankruptcy and General Motors is heading in that direction — the once-powerful auto lobby was in a weakened negotiating position. But automakers achieved two key goals in the Obama plan: clarity on what the rules are for the next seven years, and one national standard that would not differ from state to state.

"The president has succeeded in bringing three regulatory bodies (EPA, the Transportation Department and the California Air Resources Board), 15 states,

a dozen automakers and many environmental groups to the table," said David McCurdy, president of the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers. "We're all agreeing to work together on a national program."

The tougher rules will apply first to 2012 model vehicles, and consumers would pay an additional $600 per vehicle by 2016, according to administration and industry officials. But they say savings on fuel costs over time would help mitigate that cost.

The Obama official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the new rules would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and prevent the release of 900 million tons of greenhouse gases, or the equivalent of taking 177 million cars off the road.

Several environmental groups hailed the agreement. Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, said the emissions targets would result in twice the reduction in greenhouse gas pollution as earlier targets set by Congress.

"This is an historic breakthrough and a real turning point in America's approach to global warming," said Krupp, who predicted the agreement would give momentum to efforts in Congress to cap carbon dioxide emissions from all sources.

"The president is showing you can weave together climate security and economic security," Krupp added.

The agreement also marks the end of a long battle initiated by California, which enacted its stringent tailpipe emissions standards in 2002. Since then, 13 states have adopted those rules. The auto industry fought the standards in courts for years, and the Bush administration turned downed the state's request to enforce its standards under the Clean Air Act.

The Obama administration pledged to reverse that decision, and has been studying the California request for three months.

Consumers may notice little difference in their buying options for the next few years, but by 2014 fewer vehicles with poor fuel efficiency will be available. By 2016, autos sold will have to average about 39 mpg and light trucks at least 30 mpg.

California members of Congress praised the administration's decision Monday.

"I am very pleased that the administration has brought together the federal government, California and the industry behind new national emissions standards that follow California's lead," said Sen. Barbara Boxer.

For more go to http://www.JatrophaWorldCostaRica.com

Crude Oil Rising Helps Biofuels

2009-05-10T16:26:00Z

OPEC wants to see oil prices rising to more than $US70 a barrel, the oil cartel's secretary-general Abdalla El-Badri says.

"The price of $US50 is not enough to cover investment costs for the future," El-Badri told reporters in Algiers on Sunday. "The price which allows reasonable and acceptable revenues is more than $US70 a barrel."

El-Badri was speaking after talks with Energy Minister Chakib Khelil ahead of the next meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna on May 28.

"There are positive signs of a recovery in the world economy, which we have to take into account before taking a decision on the future," he added, in response to a question regarding a possible cut in oil production.

The Costa Rica News asked, leading Biofuel company, Costa Rica Seed Company, how this will effect the Biofuel industry.

"OPEC's prediction of $70.00 USD per barrel of fossil fuel makes Biofuel much more competitive for general consumption and attractive for investors. This allows the Biofuel industry to not have to rely on the governmental forced blends policies to make it viable, but allows it (Biofuel) to easily compete with fossil fuel and will put Biofuels back into everyones gas tank." said Senior Vice President Daniel Yepez of the Costa Rica Seed Company.

For more on biofuels go to http://www.costaricaseedcompany.com

Costa Rica for carbon neutrality by 2021 visit http://www.thecostaricanews.com

Aviation warns on carbon trading, more regulation

2009-05-07T21:57:00Z

By Michael Szabo

LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - Carbon trading and increased regulation could hinder efforts to reduce airplane greenhouse gas emissions through innovation and increased use of biofuels, airline industry leaders said on Wednesday.

Airplanes account for an estimated 2-4 percent of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which scientists say could cause global temperatures to rise, triggering widespread disease, famine, flooding and drought.

'It's is a small part of the problem but it's a very visible part of the problem, and therefore it's vulnerable to the wrong sort of policies being made,' Paul Steele, executive director of the Air Transport Action Group, told an aviation and climate change conference hosted by the British Airports Authority.

Governments will meet later this year in Copenhagen to carve out a new treaty on climate change to succeed the Kyoto Protocol after it expires in 2012.

Many say that although aviation makes up a relatively small part of global emissions, it has the potential to grow if unaddressed.

'If left unchecked, global aviation emissions could reach 2.4 billion tonnes of in 2050, which would be 15-20 percent of all CO2 permitted under a global agreement,' said Ben Combes of the UK's Committee on Climate Change, adding that this would be a nearly four-fold increase on current levels.

As a result, the European Union approved the inclusion of aviation under its Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012.

Airplane manufacturers said they are taking responsibility by investing in new technology including better fuel-efficiency and the development of safe, sustainable bio-jet fuels.

The problem, they say, is that they have not managed to clearly communicate this to the public.

'We have a story to tell and we need to get out there and tell it even more clearly and succinctly than we have in the past,' said Roger Bone, UK president of Boeing ( BA - news - people ).

'Technologies already on the drawing board show potential by 2020 to reduce CO2 by 30 percent ... a single aircraft powered by this engine saves the equivalent to planting 250,000 trees,' said Robert Nuttall of engine-makers Rolls Royce.

TRADING LOOMS

Under the European plan, all airlines flying into and out of EU airports will have emissions capped at 97 percent of their 2004-2006 average, and carriers will be forced to buy carbon permits to cover any excess.

With global air traffic set to double by 2020, the EU is keen to apply the 'polluter pays' principle, though some worry that its plans could clash with climate legislation proposed in other countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

'We're not against emissions trading per se ... (but) what we're seeing right now is that multiple overlapping trading schemes are going to create problems for industry,' Steele said.

'Aviation is not trying to shirk its responsibility. It should be accountable for its emissions, but it should pay for them once, the same as any other industry does.'

(Reporting by Michael Szabo; Editing by William Hardy) Keywords: AVIATION/CLIMATE

(michael.szabo@reuters.com; +44 207 542 9242; Reuters Messaging: michael.szabo.reuters.com@reuters.net)

for more go to http://www.thecostaricanews.com

Welcome to Jatropha World Costa Rica

2009-04-30T17:31:00Z

Jatropha World Kids Club first picture video presentation.
Stay tune for more...

Obama pushes renewable energy, climate change laws

2009-04-24T02:17:00Z

By Ross Colvin Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:27am BST

NEWTON, Iowa (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the United States must lead the world on renewable energy and pressed Congress to set greenhouse gas limits deemed crucial for the success of global talks on climate change.

Obama, who has kept energy reform high on his priority list since taking office in January, used Earth Day to tout the need for a U.S. shift to less-polluting fuels and a concerted effort to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil.

"It is time for us to lay a new foundation for economic growth by beginning a new era of energy exploration in America," Obama told workers at a wind power technology plant in Iowa, the state that propelled his presidential campaign more than a year ago.

"The nation that leads the world in creating new energy sources will be the nation that leads the 21st century global economy. America can be that nation. America must be that nation."

U.S. negotiators are preparing proposals for international climate talks to be held in Copenhagen in December, aimed at agreeing a pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, which sets limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. Congress may hold the key to the Obama administration's credibility at those talks. It is mulling legislation that would put a cap on carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions, forming a so-called cap-and-trade system that is similar to the European Union's.

In Washington, senior Obama administration officials urged lawmakers to back the bill.

"There will be no new global deal if the United States is not part of it, and we won't be part of it unless we are on track in enacting our own domestic plan," Todd Stern, the top U.S. climate negotiator, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Unless we stand and deliver by enacting strong, mandatory nationwide climate and energy legislation, the effort to negotiate a new international agreement will come up short."

Washington is hosting a meeting of big economies next week to help forge a climate deal. In a reference to his predecessor, former Republican President George W. Bush, Democrat Obama said the days of a slow U.S. response to global climate talks were over.

TOUGH LEGISLATION IN THE WORKS

The House of Representatives is taking the lead in Congress on rules imposing tough new caps on CO2 emissions and other pollutants that are thrust into the atmosphere by big manufacturers, utilities and vehicles.

Last month House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman unveiled a bill that seeks to lower CO2 emissions to 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and more than 80 percent by 2050.

The controversial measures could face trouble in the 100-member Senate, however, where 60 votes are required for passage. Republicans have criticized the cap-and-trade system as a backhanded energy tax.

An Environmental Protection Agency analysis of Waxman's bill found that it would raise electricity prices 22 percent by the year 2030 and cost American households an average of $98 to $140 each year through 2050.

EPA head Lisa Jackson said the cost to Americans from the bill would be "modest compared to the benefits that science and plain common sense tell us a comprehensive energy and climate policy will deliver."

The EPA declared CO2 and other tailpipe emissions a danger to human health and welfare last week, opening the way for government regulation by the Executive Branch of greenhouse gases, but Obama said in Iowa he preferred legislation to do the job.

The U.S. Interior Department issued long-delayed guidelines on Wednesday for leasing offshore areas for renewable energy production, opening the door to wind power generation off the coasts.

And the White House brought in fuel-efficient cars from U.S. producers Chrysler, GM and Ford for viewing as it prepares to replace cars in its 43-vehicle fleet.

Obama said the United States should increase domestic production of oil and natural gas in the short-term while emphasizing renewable energy such as wind power held the keys to the U.S. energy future.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Ayesha Rascoe and Tom Doggett; Writing by Jeff Mason, editing by Philip Barbara)

Jatropha offers ‘green hope’ for arid areas

2009-04-23T00:43:00Z

Written by Steve Mbogo

Jatropha fruits: If they are processed into fuel using simple technology at the farms, earnings could reach Sh103,950 in a year per hectare.
April 17, 2009: Farming of jatropha, whose seeds are processed into biodiesel and glycerin oil has the potential of turning the arid and semi arid lands into productive fields, new evidence suggests.

The cost and benefit analysis of the growing jatropha released by Green Africa Foundation, a group that is pioneering its small-scale production, reveals farmers could easily make Sh66,000 per hectare every year from selling its seeds.

With the crop dovetailing with the arid and semi arid areas (ASALs) because of the climate, the returns compare favourably to Sh40,000 to Sh77,100 per hectare a maize farmer in a well rainfall-fed area would earn.

If processed into crude fuel using simple technology available at the farm level, earnings jump to Sh103,950 per year, exceeding earnings from tea, which stand at Sh50,000 for the same size of land per year.

“We are growing jatropha in some of the driest areas like Kitui where we have not had any major rainfall in the last six years,” said Isaac Kalua, the founder and chairman of the Green Africa Foundation.

The transformation of arid lands by jatropha could also be accelerated by the fact that the crop is fast maturing. New improved seed varieties could be harvested six months after planting although optimal production is at three years. For other cash crops, first harvest may take up to three years, a condition that may be harsh for subsistence farmers.

Vast lands in the arid areas are used for tourism which brings in an average Sh60 billion a year and hosts pastoralists who keep about a million of beef cattle and 18 million goats according to a recent count by the Ministry of Livestock Development.

For a very long time, there have been attempts to introduce crops in the ASALs, but it has not borne fruits due to the harsh climate, which has only been useful to browsing animals like goats.

If growing of the jatropha crop achieves expected targets in the harsh climate, the crop is seen to have the potential of taking such regions out of the trap of poverty. This is because the need for alternative, cheaper and more environment-friendly oil is higher than the supply across the world.

This story is available in full in the Business Daily e-paper.

For More on Jatropha visit http://www.jatrophaworldcostarica.com

Organizers call regional emissions plan a success

2009-04-20T03:49:00Z

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. -- Organizers and participants in the nation's only working cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions called the fledgling attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions a success Wednesday.

Jeanne Fox, the head of New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities, said she hopes the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will soon fall victim to its own success.

The original idea was to serve as a national model for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions many scientists blame for global warming, she said, noting that the U.S. House now is considering legislation to create a similar national program.

"It's working," said Fox, a member of the initiative's board of directors. "We've succeeded in creating a program that shows cap-and-trade can work nationwide. It's a model for what they can do in Washington."

The 10-state initiative is preparing to hold its fourth auction of carbon credits June 17 for more than 200 power plants that rely on fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. The first auction was Sept. 25. Regional groups now are exploring similar initiatives in the Midwest and West.

The goal has been to provide a financial incentive for power plant owners to embrace conservation, without placing themselves at a competitive disadvantage to companies that don't invest in new technology that emits less carbon.

Cap-and-trade programs achieve that goal by limiting carbon emissions and establishing a price for them in the form of offset credits.

Power plant owners that spend the money needed to curb pollution or embrace renewable energy sources receive credits that can be sold to those who don't, Fox said.

Ralph Izzo, chief executive officer of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., said investors would be wary of utilities at the forefront of conservation efforts without the financial framework provided by the regional initiative. PSEG owns New Jersey's largest utility.

"It enables the industry's good citizens to do the right thing," Izzo said.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative includes Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said the initiative isn't perfect but is off to a good start. He spoke at the opening of a summit Wednesday on energy efficiency and the regional initiative at Rutgers University.

"It's the only real cap-and-trade program that is operating in this country," Corzine said. "It's not perfect - I think it (excludes) far too many carbon producers - but it's off to a good start."

The governor's energy master plan calls for a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and 20,000 green jobs in New Jersey by 2020, Corzine said. It also calls for 20 percent of the state's energy to be generated from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

Fox said the next step for the regional initiative is to extend the cap-and-trade program beyond power plants to other carbon emitters, such as the transportation sector, which accounts for about 37 percent of New Jersey's greenhouse gases. Power plants generate about 15 percent, she said.

By VICTOR EPSTEIN

Associated Press Writer
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Jatropha Harvest Experience

2009-04-17T21:42:00Z

Biofuel Conference Gets the Attention from Government,

Investors and Business Leaders

Representatives from 7 countries attended this unique Jatropha Event, bringing togther top industy leaders, plantation developers, technologies, investors, governmental, and researchers

On April 1st – 4rd 2009 Jatropha World Costa Rica, hosted the Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009, a first of its kind event. This 4-day event is designed to educated attendees by verifying truths and dispelling myths about Jatropha Curcas, a native Central American tree commonly cited as one of the best candidates for future biodiesel production.

The events primary sponsors were The Costa Rica Seed Company and United Biofuels of America.

Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009 featured leaders in the biodiesel field with speakers representing private sector enterprises as well as governments and universities. In addition, a first of its kind hands-on workshop walked attendees through the entire Jatropha process at the Costa Rica Seed Company’s own 80 hectare (200 acre) plantation in Tarcoles, Costa Rica. The workshop began with a step-by-step tour through the planting, pruning, and harvesting of the Jatropha plant and concluded with demonstrations of the oil extracting and refining processes. Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009 brought together Jatropha producers, environmental engineers, scientific advisors, agronomists, refinery experts, investors, plantation owners and key governmental figures with the goal of advancing Jatropha as a reliable and renewable contributor to the global energy demands.

Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009, was held at the Marriot Los Sueños Ocean and Golf Resort, and featured speakers from Applied Research Associates, the University of Florida, CATIE (the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), CABI Caribbean & Latin America, among others...for the next event go to http://www.jatrophaworldcostarica.com

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Costa Rica to Host Jatropha Biodiesel Conference and Workshop

2009-03-30T23:16:00Z

Antoine du Maurier

March 29, 2009

On April 1^{st – 3rd 2009 the Costa Rican central pacific region will host the Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009, a first of its kind event. This 3-day event is designed to educated attendees by verifying truths and dispelling myths about Jatropha Curcas, a native Central American tree commonly cited as one of the best candidates for future biodiesel production. Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009 will feature leaders in the biodiesel field with speakers representing private sector enterprises as well as governments and universities. In addition, a first of its kind hands-on workshop will walk attendees through the entire Jatropha process at the Costa Rica Seed Company’s own 80 hectare (200 acre) plantation in Tarcoles, Costa Rica. This workshop begins with a step-by-step tour through the planting, pruning, and harvesting of the Jatropha plant and concludes with demonstrations of the oil extracting and refining processes. Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009 will bring together Jatropha producers, environmental engineers, scientific advisors, agronomists, refinery experts, investors, plantation owners and key governmental figures with the goal of advancing Jatropha as a reliable and renewable contributor to the global energy demands.}

Jatropha Curcas, a native Central American plant, is an easily grown biofuel crop that has already shown great promise as a source of energy in countries like India and Brazil. As a non-food competitive crop that flourishes in tropical and subtropical areas, Jatropha is naturally resistant to drought and pests, and produces seeds containing up to 40% oil. These seeds, when crushed and processed, result in oil that can be used in a standard diesel engine. Further refinement of this oil with Jet A fuel has proven successful in aviation tests thus drawing great interest from both the commercial aviation and military industries as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels.

Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009, being held at the Marriot Los Sueños Ocean and Golf Resort, will feature speakers from Applied Research Associates, the University of Florida, CATIE (the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) among others. This event is being sponsored and hosted by The Costa Rica Seed Company and United Biofuels of America.

For further information on Jatropha Harvest Experience Costa Rica 2009, visit ^{www.jatrophaworldcostarica.com}^{or send an email to}^{jatrophaharvestexperience@jatrophaworldcostarica.com}^.