Biofuels
Articles related to biofuels
February 28, 2024
Reliance Industries, led by Chairman Mukesh Ambani, is taking a step towards addressing the serious air pollution issue faced by many Indian cities, particularly during winters […]
April 19, 2023
After the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in investor interest in Biotech stocks in India. Biotech or biotechnology is the integration of biology and […]
October 23, 2020
Green Aviation In terms of sustainability, the aviation industry courts considerable controversy for its high volumes of CO2 emissions. In 2019 alone, the global aviation industry […]
October 1, 2018
In a bid to de-carbonize the transport sector, vehicles with different electrification standards receive the most attention. Even then, liquid fuels are expected to linger around […]
December 6, 2012
The Indian Government has finally come out with a policy mandating 5% compulsory blending of ethanol with fuel. The Oil Marketing Companies will have to procure […]
December 3, 2012
What are Biofuels The liquid fuels that can be obtained from biomass like plant matter or by the waste that living creatures produce, such as manure […]
June 1, 2011
The Government on India is proposing to introduce mandatory blending of ethanol in transport fuels to the extend of 5%.This means that the major transport fuel providers like IOC,BPCL and other will have to ensure that 5% of the petrol they sell will be mixed with 5% ethanol.The US is the biggest user of mandatory blending which has recently come under harsh criticism.The reasons given for supporting blending is that it reduces the requirements of fossil fuels which leads to lower carbon emissions,improves energy security and reduces pollution.However none of these advantages are seen in real life.In fact it has the massively negative consequence of increasing food prices which leads to the starvation of the poor globally.The Corn Industry in the USA has become a major lobbying force which makes the US government persist with the policy resulting in sharp increase in corn prices to the detriment of consumers.
April 10, 2011
Biomass Energy is the oldest source of Energy known to mankind and till the 19th century was the primary energy source.Even now Biomass Energy is used of Heating and Cooking by a large percentage of the Human Population.Biomass Energy with improving technology is being now used to construct large power plants.Growing Concerns over Climate Change and soaring Coal Prices are making some Power Plants convert from Coal to Biomass as a Fuel Source.Biomass Energy has many advantages such as being Carbon Neutral,using Animal and Crop Wastes in a useful manner,being poor friendly etc.However Biomass Energy like other Renewable Energy forms of Geothermal Energy faces problems of resources.However Biomass Energy suffers from some unique drawbacks like the problem of regular feedstock which becomes tough to acquire in times of drought etc.Biomass Energy also if not used appropriately can result in terrible air pollution as is the case with a majority of the Biomass Energy being used in the backward areas of the world today.Here is a list of the Cons of Biomass.
March 14, 2011
India's Biomass Electricity Capacity at 2 GW (including cogeneration) is around 4% of the world's total Biomass Power Capacity of around 50 GW.US is the leader in Biomass Capacity with around 20% of the world's biomass potential.India has set ambitious plans for expanding the biomass power capacity in the next 10 years.India's Ministry of Renewable Energy has set a very high target of multiplying the power capacity by 10 times in the next 10 years.India's Total Biomass Potential with existing Technology is around 25 GW of which around 8% has been realized till date.India produce s 500 million tonnes of biomass per year, 120-150 million tonnes is surplus
March 10, 2011
India had set up around 500 MW of Biomass Capacity by 2007 and has increased it by almost 150 MW since then to reach around 1 GW capacity today.Most of Indias' Biomass Electricity is being generated in Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra,Tamil Nadu,Karnataka and Rajasthan.A lot of new capacity is being built in Punjab and Chattisgarh as well.India with a total biomass capacity of around 1 GW is planning to increase it by 10 times to 10 GW by 2020 by setting up a number of 1-2 MW biomass plants around the country.Around 400-600 acres of land are required to support 1 Mw of Biomass Capacity and 200-300 acres using energy intensive crops.This is much more than what is required for even thin film solar energy which is around 10 acres.The large land requirements make Biomass Energy Scalding a difficult proposition,however it has a great use in niche applications where there is a large amount of crop and animal residue/waste
Biomass Energy is clearly seeing a massive investment of private capital by a number of Green Energy companies.A number of these companies are backed by Private Equity Players.Almost all Sugar Companies in the country co-generate biomass power at their sugar plants.The size of the segment is quite large and has not been listed here.In India 3 types of companies are focused on biomass electricity - Sugar Companies,Rice Companies and Green Energy Utilities.The first 2 categories will be successful as their cost of feedstock is essentially zero while the the success of the third kind will depend on the management and execution.
March 9, 2011
The Costs of Biomass Energy Production fall in a very wide range because of the wide variety of feedstock it uses.The costs of biomass energy also depend on the distance of the feedstock from the biomass power plant.Great distances lead to the biomass plant being unfeasible.Also some forms of Biomass are more expensive than others.Urban Waste and Waste Wood are some of the cheapest forms of biomass available.Similarly,Biomass plants also can be built over a wide range of investments.Co-generation plants or CHP plants are the cheapest biomass plants while standalone biomass plants which can use a variety of feedstock are quite expensive in nature.Note unlike solar and wind power,the investments in power plants based on biomass are not fixed.Some of the technology like boilers and turbines for generating biomass energy are common industrial equipment.The costs of a biomass energy can also depend greatly on how the feedstock is procured,managed and used up by a biomass plant.A good manager of a biomass plant is very important to lower running costs of a biomass plant.
March 9, 2011
Biomass Power Plants are increasing rapidly as the costs of fossil fuels go up and the need for renewable energy is increasing.Biomass Power is attractive because of its clean character and supplies a large portion of the energy needs in rural communities.With advancements in gasifier technology and energy conversion,biomass power plants have become quite popular.Biomass Power Plants are increasing in scale from around 20-50 MW to more than 100 MW as the technology has advanced quite a bit.The only problem for these large plants is securing feedstock for these power plants and storing them.Biomass Energy has a number of advantages over conventional forms of energy and depending on the feedstock cost can be generated at prices on par with fossil fuels.Biomass Energy also leads to higher energy security as biomass is almost always secured locally.
March 9, 2011
Biomass Energy is highly under-appreciated as a renewable source of energy despite being the most important source of energy during most of human history.Till the 19th century biomass energy used to account for 70% of the world's energy consumption and still accounts for around 10% of the world consumption.In developing countries the share of biomass energy is still quite high at 30% and it is the major source for energy for rural and backward communities.Biomass primarily consists of
March 6, 2011
India has around 300,000 Telecom Towers around the country , a large portion of which is not connected to the electricity grid.Another large portion does not have access to reliable electricity implying they have to install backup power systems in order to run without interruptions.Diesel Generators have been the choice of telecom operators despite their high carbon imprint.This is because of the ease of buying and installing diesel generators as well as the lower fuel costs as the government in India heavily subsidizes diesel.Note India's Fossil Fuel Subsidies have led to hundreds of distortions in the economy.Corruption,Pilfering,Adulteration is carried out on a large scale due to government subsidies.In fact a senior government official was burnt alive by the Kerosene Mafia a direct outcome of this subsidy policy.But that is a separate issue.
November 13, 2010
Solar PV Technology have made a huge advance in the last 2-3 years leading to a demand explosion with more than 100% growth forecast this year.Crystalline PV Technology as well as Thin Film Technology like CIGs and CdTe have reduced their costs drastically.While Solar PV still requires generous government subsidies for their growth,grid parity has come very close.Solar PV Technology has become economically competitive in parts of Italy where a unique combination of high electricity rates and sunshine have made Solar PV Technology very attractive.Costs are being reduced at more than 10% per year which would make Solar PV competitive in 2-3 years in most parts of the world.However mainstream and reputed forecasters and companies like Boston Consulting Group remain blind and ignorant to this.BCG in a recent report has said that biofuels and Concentrated Solar Thermal (CSP) Technology will become competitive.I have issues with both of these technologies.
September 16, 2010
Algae Based Biofuels as a Green Investing Opportunity is still some years away as the technology is still quite nascent.Despite a lot of hoopla and a number of IPO's with synthetic biofuels as business,large scale commercial production and profits are still some time away.However the promise of this technology to revolutionize the Fossil Fuel powered Transportation Sector is Huge.Large Oil and Gas is already positioning itself in a small way to take advantage of this opportunity.Shell has been the biggest investor in Biofuels with a $12 Billion tie up with Brazilian Sugar Giant Cosan.Valero has also smartly invested in a number of biofuel startups despite being one of the strongest opponents of Green Energy.Exxon has only promised huge investments without investing much till date.
September 8, 2010
Finland is proposing to build a Billion Dollar Highway from its Capital Helsinki to a City near the Russian Border.This Highway will be the first Zero […]
August 13, 2010
rance has very low percentage of its energy mix being generated by non-nuclear Green Energy forms as most of its power is derived from Nuclear Energy.The low cost of abudant nuclear power has made France relatively immune from the Energy Insecurity faced by the rest of Europe.While Germany and Spain have installed large amounts of solar and wind energy,France remains a laggard in this respect.Unlike the other EU heavyweights,it has few companies in the field of Green Energy due to lack of a vigourous domestic market.
July 15, 2010
World’s biggest Oil company Exxon Mobil has opened a Greenhouse facility to grow and test algae which will be used for producing biofuels.Algae based Biofuels is […]
July 5, 2010
Effects of Globalization of Agriculture Globalization of Trade,Capital Flows and Labor has led to many desired and undesired effects.While the globalization of Services and Industry has […]
June 20, 2010
Valero Energy which is the US’s largest oil refiner has positioned itself strongly to take advantage of future shift in the fuel industry.The massive drop in […]
June 4, 2010
Why Algae based Biofuels Algae Based Biofuels have been hyped in the media as a potential panacea to our Crude Oil based Transportation problems. The advantages […]
May 19, 2010
Biofuels were all the rage during the Bush administration which mandated the use of biofuels for the Transportation Industry.It led to a huge boom in biofuel […]
May 9, 2010
Lufthansa is going to mix biofuel with kerosene for its planes starting from 2012 . The EU is mandating the ETS system for the flight industry […]