BA says the plant will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

British Airways has struck a deal to build the first plant in Europe to produce jet fuel from waste matter.

Some 500,000 tonnes of waste will be used by the UK facility each year to produce 16 million gallons of fuel.

Construction of the plant in east London will start within two years. It is set to produce fuel from 2014, creating up to 1,200 jobs. Leer más »

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell plans to form an ethanol and fuel distribution joint venture worth up to $12 billion with Brazilian sugar and biofuel giant Cosan, becoming the latest global energy company to buy into one of Brazil’s fastest-growing industries.

The deal, announced on Monday, marks Shell’s first foray into ethanol production and follows moves by British oil company BP, which in 2008 took a stake in a big Brazilian biofuel project and unveiled $1 billion in investments.

Cosan shares jumped 12 percent in Sao Paulo, compared with a 1.1 percent gain by the benchmark Bovespa index. Shell shares rose 1.1 percent in London, outperforming a 0.3 percent rise in the Dow Jones European oil and gas index. Leer más »

Soybean, one of the most important global sources of protein and oil, is now the first legume species with a published complete draft genome sequence. Credit: Roy Kaltschmidt, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Soybean, one of the most important global sources of protein and oil, is now the first legume species with a published complete draft genome sequence. The sequence and its analysis appear in the January 14 edition of the journal Nature. Leer más »

There has been quite a bit of activity in Brazil during the last few months of 2009 and it looks like it will continue. Bunge Limited announced today that it will become the 100 percent owner of Usina Moema Participacoes S.A.

Moema Par is a holding company that owns one sugarcane mill and has ownership in five others. Together the six mills, known as the Moema Group, have the capacity to crush 15.4 metric tons. This agreement, which is structured as a share exchange worth approximately $896 million, gives Bunge 60 percent effective share of the total capacity. 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 »

The European Biodiesel Board has called on the Argentinean authorities to step in and take a positive stance in balancing the trade in biodiesel between Argentina and Europe. In a statement issued last week the EBB explained that it had been growing increasingly concerned by the sharp increase in biodiesel exports from Argentina that the EU has been facing since January. It went on to say that it stood ready to take any appropriate step to restore, what it saw, as balanced market conditions. Leer más »

Energy from the Sahara plants is expected to supply Europe by 2015.

A sustainable energy initiative that will start with a huge solar project in the Sahara desert has been announced by a consortium of 12 European businesses.

The Desertec Industrial Initiative aims to supply Europe with 15% of its energy needs by 2050.

Companies who signed up to the $400bn (£240bn) venture include Deutsche Bank, Siemens and the energy provider E.On. Leer más »

“The big race is for the corn” said Julio Ferrarotti.

Throughout the world, researchers are seeking plants better adapted to stress. In the Biotech Forum, which will take place in Rosario on June 18 and 19, sponsored by Infocampo, will be presented the degree of progress that there is for the crops to have better performance in less favorable situations. Leer más »

NEXTFUEL ARGENTINA opens www.biodirectorio.com, a space for agricultural and bioenergy companies to offer their products and services; a thematic search engine of www.biodiesel.com.ar, one of the most visited sites on spanish-language about biodiesel, agriculture and renewable energy and with an excellent position in major Internet search engines as Google and Yahoo. Leer más »