By Sorrel Moseley-Williams/Herald staff.Although renewable energy sources haven’t hit the mainstream just yet in Argentina, “the biofuels industry is finally coming together,” according to Carlos St. James, president and founder of the Argentine Renewable Energies Chamber (ATEC).

Although biofuels currently supply just one percent of all energy to the domestic market, according to St. James, legislation will require them to provide eight percent by 2016. In addition, the government recently upped the blend of biodiesel with regular diesel from five percent to seven, an important move in a world increasingly reluctant to be fossil fuel-dependent. Leer más »

Canola-based biodiesel is closer to becoming a fuel authorized for biomass-based diesel Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), now that the EPA has released a Notice of Data Availability (NODA) for its recent modeling of the canola oil biodiesel pathway.

Earlier this year, EPA announced the final rule for the new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2), but the canola pathway was not yet looked at as biofuel feedstock able to meet required greenhouse gas reduction standards. Now, Biodiesel Magazine reports that the EPA says canola oil biodiesel could reduce GHGs by 50 percent compared to petroleum-based diesel: Leer más »

Molinos, Vicentin and Oleaginosa Moreno Hermanos will invest $350 million to build a soy-processing plant in Argentina, the companies said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The grain-processing plant will be located just north of Rosario, the main agro-industrial hub in Argentina, which is the world’s largest supplier of soymeal and soyoil. Leer más »

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina will make energy companies double the amount of soy-based biodiesel they blend with regular diesel fuel by the end of this year, the government announced on Thursday.

The fuel-mix requirement will be raised from 5 percent now to 7 percent initially and to 10 percent by year’s end, Planning Minister Julio De Vido said. Leer más »

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentina’s government is negotiating a plan to reduce diesel imports by making energy companies blend more of the fuel with soy-based biodiesel within the next year, industry sources said on Wednesday.

A new law requiring all diesel to be mixed with 5 percent of the plant-based fuel came into force earlier this year in the South American country, the fourth-biggest global biodiesel producer and top supplier of soybean oil. Leer más »

BUENOS AIRES – The Argentine government said Friday that, in compliance with a 2006 law, all diesel fuel in the country must contain at least a 5 percent of biodiesel.

“Biodiesel will be incorporated into the energy matrix, initially accounting for 5 percent of domestic demand, that is 742 million liters (196 million gallons) per year, which is equivalent to the amount of conventional diesel fuel imported by Argentina in 2008,” Planning Minister Julio de Vido told a press conference. Leer más »

In past days the envelopes with the technical offer of the Official Plan of Renewable Energies (GENREN) bid were opened. The proposing companies are now waiting for the economic offer envelopes.

he Argentine government announced the results of the 1,015 megawatt (MW) renewable energies tender proposed last May. The total offers reached 1,461 MW, a 46% oversubscription. The offers were broken down by technology: 1,203 for wind power; 155.4 MW from biofuels; 54.1 MW from biomass; 14 MW from biogas; 22.5 MW from photovoltaic solar energy; and 12.7 MW from small hydro projects. Leer más »

Growing imports of cheap Argentine biodiesel into Europe are replacing U.S. imports hit by European Union anti-dumping duties in March, Swiss-German biodiesel producer Biopetrol said on Thursday.

“Increasing amounts of indirectly-subsidized biodiesel have been coming to Europe from Argentina since the second quarter,” Biopetrol said in a statement in a statement on its first half 2009 results. Leer más »

The jatropha (known as Barbados nut) and the biodiesel attract the interest of the markets of Asia and North America, through the promotion that two investigators carry out in United States on the plant and its yield.  Â

In October of 2008, a group of investigators visited the country interested in promoting the scientific investigation in the alternative energy field. Ryan Joon Hyeong Im and Ryan Choi wants to bring the scientific investigation on the jatropha and the biodiesel production to the country, at the same time of promoting Paraguay in the Asian and North American markets, explained Jerónimo Finestra, representative of the Association for scientific development of the Mercosur. Leer más »

The president of the National Agency of Investment Developments, Beatriz Nofal and Jorge Piwko, director of Biodiesel del Plata, announced this morning the inauguration of a biodiesel plant using used vegetables oils. Leer más »