Tag Archives: published
Biodiesel Tops 1 Billion Gallons Produced This Year
Biodiesel board says RFS has helped industry grow Compiled by staff Published: Oct 25, 2013 New EPA statistics released Thursday show the biodiesel industry has cracked the 1 billion gallon mark for the third consecutive year, with several months of production remaining, the National Biodiesel Board said. Anne Steckel, NBB vice president, called the production levels a testament to the hard work of the biodiesel industry, noting the impact of the Renewable Fuels Standard in diversifying fuel supplies. Biodiesel, the first EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel to reach commercial-scale production nationwide and 1 billion gallons of annual production, uses a mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil and animal fats. The latest production figures, which cover volumes reported through September, show that the industry produced 140 million gallons in September, for a year-to-date biodiesel total of nearly 1.1 billion gallons. EPA’s production volumes are reported under the Biomass-based Diesel category of the RFS. The monthly numbers show a total of nearly 167 million gallons under the Biomass-based Diesel category for the month of September. That total includes some 27 million gallons of renewable diesel. For the year, total Biomass-based Diesel production under the RFS stands at more than 1.2 billion gallons, on pace to reach some 1.7 billion gallons by year’s end, significantly exceeding the RFS requirement of 1.28 billion gallons, NBB said. Continue reading
Farmland Returns 2.9% In Third Quarter
By: Timothy Pollard Published: October 22, 2013 The National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries Farmland index rose 2.94% during the third quarter of 2013 – 2.09% from income and 0.85% from appreciation. The total return marks the highest third-quarter return since 2005; the asset class has returned 21.3% over the past four quarters. Christopher Jay, chairman of the NCREIF farmland committee and director of financial analysis with Prudential Agricultural Investments, in a news release said returns during the quarter were driven by the Pacific West, “where many of the diverse crops grown in that region remain strong.” The index consists of 548 investment-grade farm properties – 403 annual cropland properties and 145 permanent farmland properties. Continue reading
M’sia Eyes Bigger Slice Of Growing Biomass Pellets Market
Published on: Thursday, October 10, 2013 Putra Jaya: Malaysia aims to capture a bigger slice of the growing demand for biomass pellets in Asia driven by renewable energy policies in South Korea, Japan and China. Chief Executive Officer of Agensi Inovasi Malaysia, Mark Rozario, said the country has an advantage in terms of logistics and cost of transportation, which were usually dominated by pellet producers from US and Europe. “We want to grab this opportunity and with the establishment of the Pellet Association of Malaysia (PAM) earlier, we have united the manufacturers on issues such as quality, pricing and volumes,” he told reporters after the briefing on the progress of the National Biomass Strategy 2020 here Wednesday. Rozario said demand for biomass pellets in Asia by 2020 was estimated to be around 10 million tonnes per year, mainly driven by renewable energy policies in certain countries. “Right now, Malaysia produces about 100,000 tonnes per year and there is room for us to increase our capacity following the plan to collaborate with more plantation owners to supply the feedstocks,” he said. He said Malaysia could produce about five-seven million tonnes per year of pellets in the next five years. Rozario said PAM now has 10 members and five of them had started production of the biomass pellets. He said the agency was ready to attract more players to invest in this industry. Earlier, Malaysia biomass pellet manufacturers inked deals with companies from China and South Korea to supply biomass pellets to help meet their countries’ renewable energy targets. Detik Aturan Sdn Bhd signed the memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s BC21 Co Ltd and Global Green Synergy Sdn Bhd with Chinalight (GuangZhou) – Bernama Continue reading
