(NEWZIMBABWE) Ethanol blending to save Zimbabwe $4m/month
24/10/2013 00:00:00
by Business Day
ZIMBABWE is hoping to save as much as $4m each month after instituting mandatory blending of petrol with 10% ethanol, which is set to start on Thursday.
The country’s energy sector watchdog, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera), said all petrol imported into the country now had to be blended with ethanol before distribution.
The move to force petroleum dealers to sell only blended petrol is also expected to benefit the state-run petroleum company, the National Oil Infrastructure Company (NOIC), which will be in charge of all the blending, sources in the Zimbabwean petroleum industry said on Wednesday.
Zimbabwe imports all of its fuel mostly through Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa, with petrol retailing at about $1.49 a litre while diesel costs about $1.33 a litre.
It was not immediately clear whether individual companies would still be allowed to import petrol and how their stock would be blended.
Zera CEO Gloria Magombo this week said the mandatory blending volume had been increased to 10% ethanol, from 5% before.
This is expected to marginally bring down the price of petrol in Zimbabwe, sources said.
Zera said petroleum distributors in the country had up to 10 days to clear their stock of unleaded petrol to pave the way for petrol blended with 10% ethanol.
Economists said the mandatory blending would allow Zimbabwe to capitalise on opportunities presented with growing sugar cane, an industry in which South African agro-processor Tongaat Hulett is a major player.
"The government will benefit more because all blending will be done through a state-owned company," said economist Johannes Kwangwari. "But there are also opportunities for increased sugar-cane production capacity as ethanol is a by-product."
Zera said the mandatory blending would save see Zimbabwe "about $4m every month in (fuel) imports".
"Ethanol blending contributes towards energy security of the country, reduces the fuel import bill, creates employment and has the potential for power generation," it said.
The government has gazetted amendments to the country’s energy regulations to enforce the mandatory blending.
Ethanol uptake in Zimbabwe, according to Zera, more than doubled to 2.2-million litres in September from July’s consumption spurred by the introduction of mandatory blending.
Ethanol is produced at the $600m Chisumbanje plant in Manicaland province.
Labels: ETHANOL, ZERA
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(HERALD ZW) Scramble for Zim ethanol
October 19, 2013 silence muchemwa Headlines, Top Stories
Takunda Maodza recently in CHISUMBANJE—-
President Mugabe welcomes Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces Chief General Davis Adolf Mwamunyange while Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi looks on in Harare
SOME Sadc countries are scrambling for Chisumbanje ethanol as the world embraces environmentally-friendly fuels amid indications that South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia and Malawi have approached Green Fuel with a view to sealing deals. This comes barely a week after Zimbabwe raised its ethanol blending ratio with petrol to 10 percent, with indications the figure will gradually increase.
Zimbabwe uses 1,5 million litres of petrol daily and with such a blending ratio of 90 percent, unleaded petrol and 10 percent ethanol, it means only 150 000 litres of ethanol will be used out of over half a million litres produced daily.
Green Fuel, which runs the Chisumbanje Ethanol Plant, is a joint venture between the Agricultural Rural Development Authority, Macdom Investments and Rating.
In an interview on the sidelines of a tour of Chisumbanje Ethanol Plant by Tanzanian People’s Defence Forces chief General Davis Adolf Mwamunyange on Wednesday, Green Fuel general manager Mr Graham Smith said other countries were after the ethanol.
“We have been approached by Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa which have introduced blending of petrol to ethanol at varying levels,” he said.
Mr Smith said Green Fuel had potential to become a key regional exporter of ethanol, earning the country millions of US dollars.
The company — whose operations were strangled by the inclusive Government — is now up and running with capacity to produce 120 million litres of ethanol a year, securing over 4 500 jobs.
“This is phase one of the project. In the next seven years we would be producing 500 million litres of ethanol per year.
“The 500 million litres will be enough to substitute the country’s petrol requirements by 100 percent,” Mr Smith said.
He said the firm had plans to expand into the low-veld, which would further increase its ethanol production capacity.
The company has 60 000 hectares of land in Middle Sabi and a further 60 000 hectares at Nuanetsi in Mwenezi.
“We have a further 60 000 hectares in the Mwenezi region that can produce another 500 million litres a year. We will become a key exporter of ethanol in the region.”
Mr Smith said South Africa, which introduced mandatory blending, was “a key market hungry for energy”.
Some of these regional countries like South Africa are experiencing rapid increase in vehicular population growth, yet they do not have conducive climatic conditions to grow sugarcane to process ethanol for blending.
Mr Smith said the Chisumbanje plant had brought a lot of benefits apart from creating 4 500 jobs.
“We do not have a single foreigner as an employee here. Everyone is Zimbabwean,” he said.
The company has also installed irrigation schemes benefiting 4 000 villagers in the arid Sabi Valley.
Mr Smith said Zimbabwe had the best climate for sugarcane production in the world that could turn the country into a major global ethanol producer after powerhouses such as Brazil.
He said the Zambezi Valley and areas around Limpopo were all suitable for the production of sugarcane.
Mr Smith applauded the Zanu-PF Government for backing the ethanol project.
“The Minister of Energy at that time (Elton Mangoma) saw it fit not to back the project. We sat for almost two years. Ethanol projects all over the world succeed when there is Government backing,” he said.
Government last week announced plans to increase the ethanol-petrol blending ratio up to 20 percent by March next year.
During the time when the Energy and Power Development Ministry was under MDC-T, the plant was closed and opened several times, leading to the wastage of hundreds of tonnes of sugarcane meant for ethanol.
Labels: ENERGY, ETHANOL
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(NEWZIMBABWE) Ethanol firm agrees govt joint venture
27/07/2013 00:00:00
by Business Reporter
COMMENT - I guess flapping your arms around like a 'madam' wasn't enough. - MrK
GREEN Fuel has reached a 49-51 percent joint venture with the government, paving way for production to resume at the company’s US$600 million Chisumbanje ethanol plant.
“Green Fuel Private Limited would like to announce that it has resumed the production of anhydrous ethanol for the purpose of blending with unleaded petrol with immediate effect,” the company said in a statement at the weekend.
“The company agreed with the Government of Zimbabwe to form a joint venture adhering to Zimbabwe’s indigenisation and economic empowerment laws 51/49 percent and Statutory Instrument 17 of 2013 considering the commercial realities of the project.
“Consequently this full compliance to the country’s laws would invoke the complementary efforts of the Government of Zimbabwe to sustain the opening of the ethanol plant.”
Production stopped at the company’s Chisumbanje plant after the firm failed to win government approval for mandatory ethanol blending in the country, leaving the jobs of some 4,500 workers at risk.
The government had also expressed concern over various other issues including the displacement of villagers to make way for the company’s sugar cane plantations as well as the company’s shareholding structure.
Although project promoters insisted that the company – a joint venture between two private firms and agro-parastatal ARDA - was locally-owned, the government insisted it must comply with the country’s indigenisation laws.
Under the legislation, foreign companies must transfer at least 51 percent of their local operations to Zimbabweans.
The joint venture agreement is expected to see the government endorse mandatory petrol blending with Green Fuel insisting this can help reduce the country’s annual fuel import bill by up to US$120 million.
“The blending of ethanol with petrol will reduce the petrol price thereby inhibiting the inflation rate in Zimbabwe to the benefit of the general public. It will also ease Zimbabwe’s cash liquidity crisis,” the company said.
Green Fuel also says it has the capacity to meet about 85 percent of the SADC region’s petroleum requirements.
Labels: ENERGY, ETHANOL, GREEN ENERGY
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Biti queries Green Fuel’s land deals
21/05/2012 00:00:00
by Business Reporter
FINANCE Minister Tendai Biti has claimed Green Fuel, the company behind the US$600 million ethanol project at Chisumbanje, did not pay a penny for the vast tracks of land it now controls which represent up to four percent of the country.
The project is facing collapse as government resist pressure to introduce mandatory blending of ethanol with petrol with Ministers demanding answers on several issues, principally the pricing of the company’s E10 product which is only marginally lower than unleaded petrol.
Now Biti has also questioned the nature of the deal between Green Fuel and the state-run agricultural parastatal, ARDA.
Green Fuel maintains they have a transparent Build Own Operate and Transfer arrangement with ARDA under which the two private investors involved will develop the project, run it to recoup their investment before handing it over to the State.
But Biti said described the deal as “murky” claiming Green Fuel had gained control to vast tracks of land for its sugarcane estates without a paying a penny.
“That estate is now about 4 percent of Zimbabwe. That land was not bought, it was taken for free," Biti told a privately-owned weekly.
"So the government of Zimbabwe is saying - what is the ownership structure now because you have taken all this land which you have not paid for. You have put US$200 million or US$300 million, but that is not equal to 4 percent of Zimbabwe. That must be clarified."
Biti also accused the company of being “greedy” as he backed Energy Minister Elton Mangoma’s reservations over the pricing of Green Fuel’s E10 product which is only US$0,10 less than the hydrocarbons currently in use in the country even before the government adds value added tax and other levies.
“The ethanol is being sold at US$0,10 less than the ongoing price of hydrocarbons,” he said.
“That is where we are saying, you are being greedy and we will not accept it.”
Green Fuel has since stopped production at Chisumbanje sending up to 600 workers home. The company says it has exhausted storage capacity after stockpiling 10 million litres of product.
But Mangoma said the government would not introduce mandatory blending until all the outstanding issues are addressed.
“The viable option is that Green Fuel should be given the opportunity to export. As long I'm minister, I will protect the interests of the majority,” he said.
“I don't want to go into the pricing, the facts are so murky, and these things must be done properly. Green Fuel has been given an opportunity to work with government."
Promoters of the project says mandatory blending would save the country millions of dollars in fuel imports adding the money saved could used to improve the working conditions of civil servants as well as reduce the country’s massive debts.
Green Fuel has already created some 5000 jobs but these remain at risk unless the company can convince the government to introduce mandatory blending.
Labels: ETHANOL, TENDAI BITI
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COMMENT - Isn't that like NewZimbabwe.com - first, when this project started they sold it as this white hope that these two white managers were going to start this huge project, ignoring the thousands of African employees in their coverage. Now when it fails because they don't have their distribution taken care of, they are blaming the blacks. This is a very old colonial meme - whites take credit for anything good, and blacks take the blame for anything bad. This is the psychological warfare or marketing/pr that attempts to convince Africans that their mines and land are better off in white (Anglo-American Corp.) hands.
Ethanol plant to sack 4,500 workers
White elephant ... The Chisumbanje ethanol plant which faces closure
01/05/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
UP to 4,500 workers at the US$600 million ethanol plant in Chisumbanje could lose their jobs as Energy Minister Elton Mangoma continues to resist pressure to introduce compulsory blending of petrol.
Green Fuel has already ceased ethanol production after exhausting storage capacity at the Chisumbanje plant with some 10 million litres of product in stock. The shut down has resulted in 700 factory workers being sent home on forced leave.
The company employs some 4,500 at the plant and at its vast sugar plantations, but officials say they could all lose their jobs unless the government introduces mandatory blending petrol imports with locally produced ethanol.
“We basically shut down the plant on February 6 and sent all the 700 employees on leave,” general manager, Graeme Smith said.
“We restarted the plant last week to keep the machine in shape and to keep our staff motivated, but we will be closing again on May 6.”
Workers committee deputy chair, Kokanayi Mapungwana, added: “If there is anything that needs to be done by the government, we are urging them to do that expeditiously.
“We have families to look after and we can only do that if we are employed.”
The company has struggled to push its product on the market as most service stations only have storage capacity for diesel and petrol.
Again, motorists argue that the price of the company’s E10 (a 10-90 ethanol and petrol blend) is only marginally lower than unblended petrol.
Green Fuel says higher blending rations would help reduce prices further but efforts to get government support with that and compulsory blending have so far hit a brick wall.
Energy Minister Elton Mangoma recently ruled out compulsory blending, telling Green Fuel to export their product if they could not sell it locally.
“We cannot have legislation for individuals, because that would set a bad precedent. They are free to export their product,” he said.
“We have already licensed them (Green Fuels), they are already on the market selling their fuel. I have not followed to see the volume which they are selling. Let’s not create a problem which is not there.”
However, Smith said exporting the ethanol would be counterproductive arguing the product would simply be re-imported into Zimbabwe as blended petrol but at an extra cost to the country.
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He said compulsory blending could help the country save up to US$250 million annually while higher blending rations would reduce pump prices by a further 10 cents.
Observers say the ethanol project which was expected to help end fuel supply problems as well as significantly reduce the country’s petrol import bill has fallen victim to coalition politics.
They claim that MDC elements in the government are reluctant assist the project because of presumed links between individuals associated with the company and President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party.
“There appears to be a perception that by helping Green Fuel one is also helping Zanu PF because of the supposed links between the party and individuals said to be associated with the company,” said a source close to the developments.
“But that is unfortunate because it is only the workers who end up suffering and we are, in effect, undermining what could be a very important project for the country.”
The company is also understood to be fighting off predatory elements from Zanu PF who say they will not help unless they get shares in the project inline with the country’s economic empowerment laws.
But company officials say the project is already compliant since it is a joint venture between two private but local companies and the state-owned agriculture development agency, ARDA.
Said Arda chairman Basil Nyabadza: “We now have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which is guiding us in these negotiations (on indigenization).
“Remember that when this project started there was no indigenisation and we are now discussing to make it a joint venture project between Government and the investors, and not a BOT (Build Operate Transfer project,” he said.
Labels: ETHANOL
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Ethanol plant to sack 4,500 workers
White elephant ... The Chisumbanje ethanol plant which faces closure
01/05/2012 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter
UP to 4,500 workers at the US$600 million ethanol plant in Chisumbanje could lose their jobs as Energy Minister Elton Mangoma continues to resist pressure to introduce compulsory blending of petrol.
Green Fuel has already ceased ethanol production after exhausting storage capacity at the Chisumbanje plant with some 10 million litres of product in stock. The shut down has resulted in 700 factory workers being sent home on forced leave.
The company employs some 4,500 at the plant and at its vast sugar plantations, but officials say they could all lose their jobs unless the government introduces mandatory blending petrol imports with locally produced ethanol.
“We basically shut down the plant on February 6 and sent all the 700 employees on leave,” general manager, Graeme Smith said.
“We restarted the plant last week to keep the machine in shape and to keep our staff motivated, but we will be closing again on May 6.”
Workers committee deputy chair, Kokanayi Mapungwana, added: “If there is anything that needs to be done by the government, we are urging them to do that expeditiously.
“We have families to look after and we can only do that if we are employed.”
The company has struggled to push its product on the market as most service stations only have storage capacity for diesel and petrol.
Again, motorists argue that the price of the company’s E10 (a 10-90 ethanol and petrol blend) is only marginally lower than unblended petrol.
Green Fuel says higher blending rations would help reduce prices further but efforts to get government support with that and compulsory blending have so far hit a brick wall.
Energy Minister Elton Mangoma recently ruled out compulsory blending, telling Green Fuel to export their product if they could not sell it locally.
“We cannot have legislation for individuals, because that would set a bad precedent. They are free to export their product,” he said.
“We have already licensed them (Green Fuels), they are already on the market selling their fuel. I have not followed to see the volume which they are selling. Let’s not create a problem which is not there.”
However, Smith said exporting the ethanol would be counterproductive arguing the product would simply be re-imported into Zimbabwe as blended petrol but at an extra cost to the country.
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He said compulsory blending could help the country save up to US$250 million annually while higher blending rations would reduce pump prices by a further 10 cents.
Observers say the ethanol project which was expected to help end fuel supply problems as well as significantly reduce the country’s petrol import bill has fallen victim to coalition politics.
They claim that MDC elements in the government are reluctant assist the project because of presumed links between individuals associated with the company and President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party.
“There appears to be a perception that by helping Green Fuel one is also helping Zanu PF because of the supposed links between the party and individuals said to be associated with the company,” said a source close to the developments.
“But that is unfortunate because it is only the workers who end up suffering and we are, in effect, undermining what could be a very important project for the country.”
The company is also understood to be fighting off predatory elements from Zanu PF who say they will not help unless they get shares in the project inline with the country’s economic empowerment laws.
But company officials say the project is already compliant since it is a joint venture between two private but local companies and the state-owned agriculture development agency, ARDA.
Said Arda chairman Basil Nyabadza: “We now have signed a Memorandum of Understanding which is guiding us in these negotiations (on indigenization).
“Remember that when this project started there was no indigenisation and we are now discussing to make it a joint venture project between Government and the investors, and not a BOT (Build Operate Transfer project,” he said.
Labels: ETHANOL
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The sad tale of Chisumbanje ethanol plant
Friday, 30 March 2012 21:08
Emilia Zindi
The much-hyped Chisumbanje Ethonal Plant is now a white elephant. It is more than a month since machines at the multi-million-dollar project in Chiredzi ground to a halt and Green Fuel (Pvt) Ltd, the company running the venture, remains stuck with millions of litres of fuel.
The company no longer has storage space for the ethanol since little of the product is finding its way to the local market. Motorists who have b een anticipating to use the E10 fuel to power their vehicles are hesitant to adopt the product. They are, however, concerned with the safety of their vehicles.
Despite experts assuring vehicle owners that the fuel was safe, motorists are believing otherwise. They think E10 may damage vehicle engines and the fuel burns faster than unleaded petrol.
While concerns from motorists could have been the major reasons that fuelled the low uptake of the product, there are, however, some schools of thought that some issues were overlooked in order to make the project viable.
Prior to the introduction of the green fuel, the general belief was that its price would be lower and cost as little as US$0,90 per litre considering that it was a local product.
Most service stations are selling E10 at an average price of US$1,41 compared to US$1,44 for unleaded petrol.
Despite the country having sold blended fuel before, there was a need for public education on the reintroduced of the product and its benefits.
“It is of no use to have our own product costing almost the same as the imported one. Motorists think it is rather absurd to switch from what they were used to and try another product for no reason. The price should have been less than a dollar per litre,’’ said a Harare economist, Mr Machel Mawerera.
['No reason'? How about a) it is Made In Zimbabwe, b) it is good for the environment, c) you're not putting money into the pockets of the Saudis. Don't even try to pass a hitjob by on me. - MrK]
The other thing which motorists questioned was the percentage of ethanol which they say was too low as compared to other countries using the same product.
Most countries use E15 up to E100 with the price of their fuel remaining competitively low.
The more ethanol content there is in petrol blending, the less the price as the volumes of imported petrol will also go down.
“Why then is Zimbabwe on E10? This is why the producers cannot reduce the price of the fuel because of the low ethanol content. If they increase the ratio of ethanol to the petrol, they can easily reduce the price which every motorist is looking forward to,’’ continued Mr Mawerera.
But according to Green Fuel assistant general manager Mr Raphael Zuze who took The Sunday Mail In-Depth for a tour of the Chisumbanje plant last week, the pricing issue was not the reason why the product was not selling.
To him it should be mandatory for every fuel importer to blend their petrol with the local ethanol.
“I do not agree that motorists are resisting our product because of the price. It is just a belief which has been created that needs to be eradicated. We are asking the authorities to make it mandatory for every fuel importer to use our ethanol to blend what they import,” said Mr Zuze
“Once that becomes mandatory, we will see how much the country saves in terms of foreign currency which can then be used towards other pressing issues,’’ said Mr Zuze.
On why the company started at E10 while other countries are using between E15 and E100, Mr Zuze said Zimbabwe started at the low ratio because the general belief was that most cars were old models.
As such high ratio of ethanol use would definitely damage the engines of old vehicles.
“We are introducing ourselves slowly and we are going to increase the ratio, but we can only do that with a guaranteed mandatory blending licence. This will help us to determine what our market needs. It is true that if we go up to between E15 and E25, the price of fuel will definitely go down,’’ said Mr Zuze.
He said the company was able to meet the market demand and it planned to build two more plants, one at Middle Sabi and the third one at Chisumbanje.
Green Fuel factory manager Mr Peter Glaum said motorists needed to understand that the use of anything between E15 and E25 required vehicles to be fitted with converters.
“The converter changes the fuel-air ratio. Depending on the car, most of the local vehicles require converters to use anything between E15 and E25. That is why we started at E10 because we were not sure of the state of the local cars,’’ said Mr Glaum.
However, an increase in ethanol blend would see the company paying more money to the Government in licence fees.
“It is true that if we want to go for E20 we have to apply for a licence for that, be it E15 or E25, the charges are much more than what we paid for the E10 licence, but this is not the reason we started low,’’ said Mr Glaum without disclosing the total amount of fees paid out.
But it is the absence of activity at Chisumbanje Ethanol Plant that has left the surrounding community and the nation calling for speedy solution to reopen the project.
Developmental projects that had started mushrooming in the area have since been affected with villagers whose fields that had been incorporated into the Green Fuels irrigation plan suffering the most.
“Now that the plant has been shut down, our crops are wilting as we are no longer irrigating. We had hoped to plant crops year round, taking advantage of the irrigation facilities, but our hopes have now been dashed.
“We are only hoping the plant will resume anytime soon so that we do not starve,’’ said Mr Charles Chipanje, chairman of Chinyamukwakwa Irrigation Project which has 600 hectares of land benefiting about 1 200.
Because of the closure of the plant, only 300 hectares of land is now being irrigated and fears are that the hectarage could be reduced.
Chief Garahwa, whose people were beneficiaries of the project, said he was disturbed by the closure of the plant as most youths in the area who had been employed had since been laid off until the company resumed operations.
“Our children had secured employment. Now we fear they might resort to criminal activities since they no longer have any source of income.
“We appeal to the authorities to quickly make a decision so that the plant is opened soon,’’ said Chief Garahwa, who had also visited the company executives to express his concerns over the closure of the plant.
Green Fuel has since laid off about 230 employees as a result of the closure of the Chisumbanje plant.
The nearby Checheche Growth Point, which had become a hive of activity, has also been affected by the closure of the plant.
Most business ventures that had opened at the centre are closing down, citing reduced receipts as most people are now unemployed.
On the other hand only four out of the nine banks that had also opened still remain functional while some business people are failing to make long-term plans on their ventures as they are uncertain on what the future holds.
“The situation is being made worse because of the uncertainty that surrounds the ethanol project.
“We no longer have serious business activity in this area,’’ said one businessman, Mr Shadreck Nyabeta.
Despite the ethanol project being viewed as a panacea to the country’s fuel problems, it seems the venture is failing to live up to its billing.
Millions of litres of ethanol are lying idle in Chiredzi, at a time motorists are waiting for cheap and reliable fuel.
Labels: ENERGY, ETHANOL
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Zim can ‘grow’ its own fuel
By Garikai Chengu
ZIMBABWE’S agrarian revolution is proving to be a resounding success on several fronts, not least the extent to which it is promoting economic independence. In order to achieve energy independence Zimbabwe must embark on yet another agrarian revolution, this time fuelled by ethanol.
Ethanol is a clean-burning motor fuel that is produced from renewable sources such as sugar cane. Ethanol can be blended with petrol or diesel, effectively allowing Zimbabwe to “grow” some of its own fuel.
Currently, Zimbabwe does not blend ethanol in its fuel nor does the nation have legislation that regulates and promotes the investment, production, marketing, and use of ethanol.
However, such legislation would unlock several enormous benefits of ethanol use for the nation, namely: energy independence, rural development and job creation and finally combating climate change.
The importance of Zimbabwe weaning itself off dependence on foreign oil is highlighted by, firstly, the fact that Zimbabwe is a non-oil producing country with comparatively high costs of importing oil due to its landlocked nature.
Secondly, the foreseeable persistent increase in prevailing international oil prices means that the nation will have to spend more of its scarce foreign exchange resources to obtain the same amount of fuel, putting pressure on the country’s balance of payments position.
By ensuring that ethanol constitutes up to 25 percent of transport fuel, Zimbabwe can reduce its dependence on foreign oil and lower exposure to the price volatility of the international oil market.
The production and use of ethanol would benefit the economy on all levels — local, provincial and national. From the metropolitan areas where drivers would fill up with a domestically produced fuel, to the local communities where the crops are grown and processed, Zimbabwean-made ethanol shall help propel the economy.
A prime example of how ethanol production can benefit local communities, by promoting rural development and creating employment, is the ongoing construction of the biggest ethanol plant in Africa in Chipinge.
By March 2011, the billion dollar ethanol project will produce 100 million litres of ethanol per annum, which is about 20 percent of the country’s total fuel requirements.
Ethanol holds the promise of contributing to rural development by creating jobs in feedstock production, biofuel manufacture and the transport and distribution of feedstock and products. In fact, the ethanol plant in Chipinge will employ over 7 000 people.
Ten thousand hectares has also been set aside for local farmers to be contracted to grow sugar-cane.
Quite aside from ethanol’s contribution to energy independence and rural development, Government should throw its weight behind ethanol as a means of combating climate change.
By signing the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement connected to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Zimbabwe has committed to reduce fossil fuel use, thereby reducing carbon emissions and helping to curb climate change and global warming.
In this respect, biofuels like ethanol have one enormous, overwhelming plus-point, which is that they are carbon-neutral.
When fossil fuels, oil, gas or coal are burned in cars or power stations, they add to the net amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas, which is the main cause of global warming.
The carbon they release is new to the atmosphere, because it has been buried deep within the earth for millions of years. On the other hand, when biofuels like ethanol are burned, they are only releasing the carbon dioxide which was absorbed from the atmosphere by the crops used to produce them as they grew. Biofuels are therefore classed as a renewable energy source.
Despite the fact that ethanol is home-grown, clean and renewable, Government only approved a draft energy policy for the first time in 2008 since achieving independence in 1980. However, Government is still yet to formulate a comprehensive policy on ethanol.
Government must draft comprehensive legislation that regulates and promotes the investment, production, marketing and use of ethanol. The absence of firm mandates or incentives has slowed any meaningful development of the biofuels sector.
The legislation must create incentives around two main areas: the use of ethanol and its production.
Regarding ethanol use, the legislation should provide various levels of exemption from motor fuel excise taxes for blenders and a mandatory fuel blend of, say, 25 percent ethanol and 75 percent petrol for filling stations.
Concerning ethanol production, the legislation should create incentives designed to encourage development of production facilities including: income tax credits for small ethanol producers, direct financing or guaranteed loans for capital construction, and direct subsidies for production.
Government should have no difficulty creating such generous incentives for the ethanol industry because ethanol is just about the only renewable-energy initiative that will have broad political support.
Nationalists would love it because it offers the possibility that Zimbabwe may wean itself off dependence on foreign oil. Farmers would love it because it would provide a new source of subsidy.
The automotive industry would love it, because it reckons that switching to a green fuel will take the global warming heat off cars.
The national oil industry would love it because the use of ethanol as a fuel additive means it is business as usual, at least for the time being.
Politicians will certainly love it because by subsidising ethanol they can please all those constituencies.
Besides, in all likelihood taxpayers won’t seem to notice that they are footing the bill.
But what they will notice is a cheaper, clean-burning, renewable energy source that will see us switch from dwindling foreign oil wells to boundless fields of crops to satisfy our energy needs. — Talkzimbabwe.com
Garikai Chengu is a Researcher at Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He can be contacted at chengu@fas.harvard.edu. The views expressed herein are solely those of Garikai Chengu.
Labels: BIOFUELS, ETHANOL
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Ethanol key to energy independence
By: Garikai Chengu
Posted: Thursday, October 28, 2010 1:39 am
ZIMBABWE'S Agrarian Revolution is proving to be a resounding success on several fronts, not least the extent to which it is promoting economic independence. In order to achieve energy independence Zimbabwe must embark on yet another agrarian revolution, this time fuelled by ethanol.
Ethanol is a clean-burning motor fuel that is produced from renewable sources such as sugar cane. Ethanol can be blended with petrol or diesel, effectively allowing Zimbabwe to ''grow" some of its own fuel.
Currently Zimbabwe does not blend ethanol in its fuel nor does the nation have legislation that regulates and promotes the investment, production, marketing, and use of ethanol.
However, such legislation would unlock several enormous benefits of ethanol use for the nation, namely: energy independence, rural development and job creation and finally combating climate change.
The importance of Zimbabwe weaning itself off dependence on foreign oil is highlighted by, firstly, the fact that Zimbabwe is a non-oil producing country with comparatively high costs of importing oil due to its land-locked nature.
Secondly, the foreseeable persistent increase in prevailing international oil prices means that the nation will have to spend more of its scarce foreign exchange resources to obtain the same amount of fuel, putting pressure on the country’s balance of payments position.
By ensuring that ethanol constitutes up to 25 percent of transport fuel, Zimbabwe can reduce its dependence on foreign oil and lower exposure to the price volatility of the international oil market.
The production and use of ethanol would benefit the economy on all levels - local, provincial, and national. From the metropolitan areas where drivers would fill up with a domestically produced fuel, to the local communities where the crops are grown and processed, Zimbabwean-made ethanol shall help propel the economy.
A prime example of how ethanol production can benefit local communities, by promoting rural development and creating employment, is the ongoing construction of the biggest ethanol plant in Africa in Chipinge. By March 2011, the billion dollar ethanol project will produce 100 million litres of ethanol per annum, which is about 20 percent of the country’s total fuel requirements.
Ethanol holds the promise of contributing to rural development by creating jobs in feedstock production, biofuel manufacture, and the transport and distribution of feedstock and products. In fact, the Ethanol plant in Chipinge will employ over 7,000 people. Ten thousand hectares has also been set aside for local farmers to be contracted to grow sugar-cane.
Quite aside from ethanol's contribution to energy independence and rural development, Government should put its weight behind ethanol as a means of combating climate change.
By signing the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement connected to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Zimbabwe has committed to reduce fossil fuel use, thereby reducing carbon emissions and helping to curb climate change and global warming.
In this respect, biofuels like ethanol have one enormous, overwhelming plus-point, which is that they are carbon-neutral. When fossil fuels, oil, gas or coal are burned in cars or power stations, they add to the net amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas, which is the main cause of global warming. The carbon they release is new to the atmosphere, because it has been buried deep within the earth for millions of years.
On the other hand, when biofuels like ethanol are burned, they are only releasing the carbon dioxide which was absorbed from the atmosphere by the crops used to produce them as they grew. Biofuels are therefore classed as a renewable energy source.
Despite the fact that ethanol is home-grown, clean and renewable, Government only approved a draft energy policy for the first time in 2008 since achieving independence in 1980. However, Government is still yet to formulate a comprehensive policy on ethanol.
Government must draft comprehensive legislation that regulates and promotes the investment, production, marketing, and use of ethanol. The absence of firm mandates or incentives has slowed any meaningful development of the biofuels sector. The legislation must create incentives around two main areas: the use of ethanol and its production.
Regarding ethanol use, the legislation should provide various levels of exemption from motor fuel excise taxes for blenders and a mandatory fuel blend of say 25 percent ethanol and 75 percent gasoline for gas stations.
Concerning ethanol production, the legislation should create incentives designed to encourage development of production facilities including: income tax credits for small ethanol producers, direct financing or guaranteed loans for capital construction, and direct subsidies for production.
Government should have no difficulty creating such generous incentives for the ethanol industry because ethanol is just about the only renewable-energy initiative that will have broad political support.
Nationalists would love it because it offers the possibility that Zimbabwe may wean itself off dependence on foreign oil. Farmers would love it because it would provide a new source of subsidy.
The automotive industry would love it, because it reckons that switching to a green fuel will take the global-warming heat off cars. The national oil industry would love it because the use of ethanol as a fuel additive means it is business as usual, at least for the time being. Politicians will certainly love it because by subsidising ethanol they can please all those constituencies.
Besides, in all likelihood taxpayers won't seem to notice that they are footing the bill.
But what they will notice is a cheaper, clean-burning, renewable energy source that will see us switch from dwindling foreign oil wells to boundless fields of crops to satisfy our energy needs.
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Garikai Chengu is a Researcher at Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. He can be contacted at chengu@fas.harvard.edu. The views expressed herein are solely those of Garikai Chengu.
Labels: BIOFUELS, ETHANOL, GREEN REVOLUTION
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Ethanol plant launched in Zimbabwe
By: Ralph Mutema
Posted: Monday, March 8, 2010 5:35 pm
THE Zimbabwean government has launched plans for the construction of a sugarcane-to-ethanol refinery.
The plant, which will provide Zimbabwe with 80% of its ethanol needs, will be built on land currently owned by the Agricultural and Rural Development Authority in Chisumbanje and cost $600 million (€439.2 million) to construct.
In the first stages of production 40,000 hectares of land will be used to harvest sugar cane and convert it into 3.3 million gallons of ethanol every year. However a further 1,000 hectares of land will be used every month in order to cultivate the sugarcane.
Investment companies Rating Investment and Macdom Investments have joined the project, which is due to begin production in October of this year. Once complete the refinery will also supply power to Mutare and Manicaland.
Labels: ETHANOL
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Malawi government endorses use of ethanol-fuelled cars
By Nyasa Times
Published: November 24, 2009
Energy and Natural Resources Minister, Grain Malunga, has disclosed that government has endorsed the use of ethanol-fuelled cars. The Minister said the move is part of the ongoing drive to find alternative and cheap sources of fuel to replace imported fossil fuels.
“The issue is reducing the ratio of patrol to ethanol from 90 to 10 [percent] to; 80 to 20 [percent]. So the research has been done as successful which means that now instead of using 90 percent patrol we will be using 80 percent patrol and then 20 percent will be ethanol,” said Malunga on Capital Radio.
“What it means is that there will be a further 10 percent reduction in importation of fuel in exchange to ethanol which is produced locally,” the minister said, pointing out that the development will wean the country off its fossil fuel dependency and better harness Malawi’s ethanol industry.
The country successfully completed a project to test the practicability of using locally produced sugarcane ethanol instead of petrol or diesel to power vehicles. The experiment was under- taken in two phases by the Malawi government and privately owned Ethanol Company of Malawi (Ethco), with the first phase involving the testing of a modified Mitsubishi Pajero and the second a flexi-fuel vehicle that Ethco imported from Brazil.
“The tests showed that the performance of the ethanol-powered vehicle is good, just like that of a petrol-powered vehicle. The difference is that ethanol consumption for a similar distance is [slightly] more than the fuel consumption of a petrol vehicle. This is understandable, as petrol is more ambient than ethanol, [but] this should be compensated by the pricing structure,” said Daniel Liwimbi former Ethco boss now deputy minister of Energy .
Malawi produces cane ethanol at two plants: the Ethco-owned Dwangwa plant, in the central region, and another one at Nchalo, in the southern region, which is owned by local firm Press Cane. The two are adjacent to sugar cane plantations and sugar factories owned by multinational sugar group Illovo.
Each of the two plants has a design capacity of 16-million liters of ethanol but the two factories are producing below capacity because of the low availability of molasses, a by-product of sugar production.
Press Cane and Ethco produce 18-million liters of ethanol a year, which, Liwimbi says, is not enough to meet local demand, should Malawi start using ethanol to power vehicles.
Malawi launched the ethanol-driven vehicle research project following a Cabinet directive which came about as a result of unstable prices of fossil fuels on the world market.
Malunga said Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (MERA) should ensure that benefits are going to consumers or social development by improving social economic status of the country. (Additional reporting by Marcel Chimwala, Creamer Media)
Labels: BIOFUELS, ETHANOL
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Triangle to start producing ethanol
By Martin Kadzere
TRIANGLE Limited will start producing ethanol for blending petrol within the next three weeks following the completion of its plant refurbishment in the Lowveld. "It will start in the next three weeks," Secretary for Energy and Power Development Mr Justice Mupamhanga said in an interview adding, "all modalities are now in place." This is a major project in the energy sector set to boost the production of fuels.
The Triangle plant has the capacity to produce 3,6 million litres of ethanol, made out of sugarcane by-product and will blend fossil fuel at the ratio of 1:10. The use of blended fuel ceased in Zimbabwe in 1992, as unblended fuel became cheaper. This idea was revisited three years ago in line with the Government’s import substitution and foreign currency-saving strategy.
An official with the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe said they had provided storage tanks at its depot in Msasa while other storage facilities would be set up in Feru- ka.
Some big oil companies had also agreed to build storage facilities in the short to medium term, the official added.
The Motor Traders Association president Mr Misheck Nyamupingidza said the association was in the process doing quality assessment to establish the vehicle models suitable for consuming blended petrol.
Economists described the programme as "positive" but stressed the need to start increasing cane production.
"It is a positive programme but sugarcane production has to be expanded to ensure its continuity," said a Harare based independent economist.
The country’s major cane producers, Hippo Valley Estates and Triangle Limited have already indicated intentions to boost production.
Blended petrol is used in countries such as the US, Brazil, Argentina and Malawi.
Labels: BIOFUELS, ETHANOL
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