A Plant with a Bad Name

A very detailed report on Jatropha from Hardman and Co, (March 2011)

To download the report click here

7 Airlines commit to flying on Biofuels

20 June 2011

In the US, a group of seven airlines has signed letters of intent with Solena Fuels for a supply of 100% biomass-derived jet fuel to be produced in northern California.

The fuel will be produced at Solena's GreenSky California biomass-to-liquids (BtL) facility, located in northern California. At the plant, 550,000 tonnes of urban and agricultural waste will be converted into 16 million gallons a year of jet fuel by 2015. The facility will also produce 14 million gallon a year equivalents of other energy products.

'Today's announcement reinforces the ongoing steps that ATA member airlines are taking to stimulate competition in jet fuel production, contribute to the creation of green jobs, and promote energy security through economically viable alternatives that also demonstrate global and local environmental benefits,' says Nicholas Calio, the president and CEO of the industry trade organisation for the leading US airlines Air Transport Association of America (ATA).

'It is through the leadership and commitment of ATA member airlines and the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) that we are able to bring this groundbreaking alternative aviation fuels project in California to fruition,' he continues.

American Airlines and United Continental Holdings led the development of the agreement with Solena and were joined by five additional ATA member airlines – Alaska Airlines, FedEx, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and US Airways – and ATA associate member Air Canada in signing the letters of intent, as well as Frontier Airlines and Lufthansa German Airlines.

To read more coverage visit Biofuels International

Biofuel-powered jet flies across the Atlantic.

Honeywell shows off capabilities of its “green” jet fuel

By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch

PARIS (MarketWatch) — A business jet flew from New Jersey to Paris powered with a blend of “green” jet fuel and petroleum-based fuel, successfully completing the first biofuel transatlantic flight, Honeywell International Inc. said Saturday.

The flight highlights the growing importance of making aviation more environmentally friendly ahead of next week’s Paris Air Show, which will bring together key players from the aerospace and defense industry.

This year, the show — Monday through June 26 — will devote a specific area to companies working on developing alternative aviation fuels.

Europe's week ahead: Paris air show.The aerospace and defense industry will gather next week at Le Bourget airport for the Paris Air Show.MarketWatch’s Polya Lesova reports.

The Honeywell-operated Gulfstream G450 jet left Morristown, N.J., at 9 p.m. on Friday and landed at Le Bourget airport outside Paris about seven hours later, closely tracking the route of Charles Lindbergh’s historic first flight across the Atlantic.

Honeywell’s “green” jet fuel was derived from camelina, an oilseed crop that can grow on marginal lan, and its use on the flight saved around 5.5 metric tons of net carbon dioxide emissions compared to the same flight powered by petroleum-based fuel, Honeywell /quotes/zigman/234291/quotes/nls/hon HON -0.89% said.

”This first biofuel trip across the Atlantic, along with more than a dozen other commercial and military test flights conducted to date, demonstrates that Honeywell Green Jet Fuel more than meets the demanding requirements for air travel,” said Jim Rekoske, vice president and general manager of renewable energy and chemicals for Honeywell’s UOP, in a statement.

“Now that the initial ASTM International approval is in place, we are one step closer to commercial use that will help the aviation community reduce its carbon footprint and dependence on crude,” he said.

Honeywell said it has produced more than 700,000 gallons of “green” jet fuel from camelina, jatropha, algae and other sources for use in commercial and military testing. In the 16 biofuel flights conducted to date, the fuel has met all specifications for flight on military and commercial platforms without any modification to the aircraft or engines, according to the company.

Interest in renewable sources of fuel has been growing in the aviation industry. For example, at last year’s Farnborough Airshow in the U.K., EADS unit Airbus showed off an aircraft powered by algae juice. Read more about the efforts of Airbus in this area.

To read the full article visit MarketWatch here

Free Webinar

Our next webinar in our webinar series is on Thursday the 9th of July

Titled "Now you can own a Green Oilfield", it details our Renewable Energy Farm Investment Opportunity in the Southern Zone Costa Rica.

Combining biofuel annual income and land capital appreciation with the expertise of United Biofuels of America, gives you an unbeatable investment opportunity.

To read more and register for this free webinar, click on the following link or copy and paste it into your browser:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/962813122

United Biofuels of America: “We are developing the next big Costa Rican export”

By Henriette Jacobsen, TheCostaRicaNews.com

UBA President, Daniel Yepez.

United Biofuels of America (UBA) has developed a program to sell renewable energy farms to potential green tech investors, the first of its kind in the world. The President of UBA explains why he thinks this is the next big export for Costa Rica in an exclusive interview.

The President of UBA, Daniel Yépez, says his company along with the partners Day Group and International Energy Advisors (IEA), are developing a biofuel project and green investment idea that’s so unique that he believes it can become bigger than Costa Rica’s three main exports combined. It includes sustainable farms that grow UBA’s biofuel cash cow or “cash crop,” jatropha.

“In such a demanding industry, there’s no competition. The sky is the limit,” Yépez says in all seriousness. “We’ll never be able to fulfill the demand for fuel on this planet. But we will try.”

Jatropha oil and seeds.

Many green tech companies have experimented with different sorts of crops like maize, rice, wheat and sugar to come up with a suitable bioethanol. They have often been criticized of using food for fuel; food that could have benefitted starving children in Third World countries around the world. Yépez says jatropha will give all its investors a green conscience. For many reasons. Jatropha is a non-edible feed stock and has the highest qualities of properties in oil, around 40%. It grows in marginal land, regenerates the soil and can be intercropped with food crops.

“The biggest culprits are the cattle rangers. Their land has become unproductive, but we recover that land. We recover unproductive marginal land, capture carbon, reforest the fields and introduce nitrogen, which is one of the most important elements for food to grow,” Yépez states.

Jatropha plant.

Jatropha is indigenous to Central America, but when Portuguese colonists came to conquer Costa Rica, they discovered the energetic opportunities of the plant and propagated it throughout Africa and Asia. Now we can even talk about a “jatropha belt” as it grows 30 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator.

For a long time jatropha was only used as a green fence around farms and houses in Costa Rica because it’s toxic and animals won’t eat it. Though it has been well-known for more than one hundred years that vegetable oil could be a source of biofuel. Now the great challenge awaits jatropha.

Green jatropha fruit, not quite ripe yet.

Almost four years ago, Applied Research Association (ARA), who works for the United States’ government, contacted UBA because they were looking for a new fuel for the United States’ air force. ARA had a new technology and UBA delivered jatropha oil to be converted into jet fuel. Since then, numerous airlines including Virgin and Continental Airlines have tested jatropha and flown with up to a 50% based jatropha combined with 50% petroleum based jet fuel.

One of the jatropha fields used in research and development.

With governments around the world trying to become energy independent and committed to reducing CO2 emissions, airlines have come under pressure as they are primary contaminants of CO2 emissions in the transport sector. Aircrafts can’t use solar energy, and jatropha has proven to be the best solution because of its high quality oil with caloric and burning values. By 2015, aircrafts will be flying with biofuel blends that consist of 50% jatropha and 50% petroleum-based jet fuel.

This is the million gallon challenge. ARA now has a technology that can convert jatropha oil into jet fuel, which will require a million gallons per day of cjo (crude jatropha oil). Producing a million gallons of oil per day requires 300,000 hectares of land.

“How can we do this within the next four years? We can’t just do it in Costa Rica because there’s not enough land. Therefore, we’ll have to do it around the region. And that’s why UBA was born; to develop renewable energy farms with the help of micro and macro investors,” says the President of UBA.

Though there’s no patent on selling jatropha oil, Yépez says no other company has the same extent of knowledge about the plant than UBA. However, UBA will seek to collaborate with as many companies from around the world to help achieve the million gallon challenge.

UBA is the first regional biofuel consultancy and development consortium in Central America. The company has expertise in facilitating sustainable results in private and government led development and has been conducting research and development for five years with agro field plantations. Together with Day Group, UBA has come up with the idea for multi-purpose real estate, bringing added value to real estate such as agro fuel production. Day Group, which is a real estate advisory consulting company founded in 2001, searches for hot spots, which are areas in Costa Rica where it’s suitable to grow biofuel plantations according to UBA standards. IEA joined the group last year and sells and promotes the renewable energy farms.

So far, Day Group has located a hot spot in the southern zone of Costa Rica in Buenos Aires. The hotspot is close to Costa Rica’s next international airport and the second largest investment in Central America after the expansion of the Panama Canal – a hydro electric dam that will generate electricity to the whole of Costa Rica and neighboring countries. This is where the first real renewable energy farms will be located by the end of this year. So far UBA has had over 20 test farms in Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Colombia and Florida.

Working closely with the farmers to promote production on a local level as well as regulate and control quality.

UBA is not listed on any stock exchange, but IEA, which markets and sells renewable energy farms, is seeking to get listed on the BNV share index or in the United States within three years. So a potential green investor can either wait for IEA to become an IPO (initial public offering) or purchase one of the renewable energy farms. One farm is 124 hectares of planted parcel real estate property that is segregated and costs $35,000. The purchase includes 800 – 1,000 jatropha and palm trees, a Costa Rican corporation (the investor owns that for tax and transfer advantages), irrigation, management, road, water and electricity. UBA will sell the jatropha oil produced on the farm and give all revenues to the investor minus a 10% management fee. The oil will be sold to a guaranteed buyer, Recope, which is the national petroleum company of Costa Rica. They have a mandate to put a 10% blend in their fuel by next year.

Based on crude prices of $90 or less a barrel, Yépez says, infrastructure that is developed has an added value of $35,000 because the price of the farm doubles when facilities are added. After ten years the value will be over $120,000, giving the investor a 380% return on investment. The investor will also have $50,000 produced in revenues from the biofuel plantation. It’s a ten-year investment where you can opt out any time.

But there might be unforeseen obstacles on the horizon, so what can go wrong with this investment and for UBA?

“Natural disasters because of climate changes can destroy a lot. There are no guarantees. New plagues and diseases that we are still unaware of could also become a factor,” says Yépez.

For more information, visit Costa Rica Invest's website www.costaricainvest.ie

Jatropha has great potential to save greenhouse gases

The threshold of 35% greenhouse gas (GHG) savings for biofuels by the European Union is easily met by Jatropha. These are the findings of an independent report by sustainability consultants Partners for Innovation. The study commissioned by the Jatropha Alliance and Sun Biofuels demonstrates that even using very conservative assumptions on yields and other parameters, Sun Biofuels Mozambique is saving 39% of GHG compared to fossil fuels if the Jatropha biodiesel is produced in the UK. The now published GHG report also highlights the potential of Jatropha biodiesel to achieve a GHG saving of up to 73%.

In the context of a sustainability assessment on Jatropha biofuels in Mozambique the Jatropha Alliance commissioned Partners for Innovation to conduct an independent greenhouse gas life cycle calculation for Sun Biofuels Mozambique SA. The outcomes of these calculations have been independently reviewed by Robert Bailis, assistant professor at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and Ignacio Pérez Domínguez from LEI Agricultural Economic Research in the Netherlands.

The amount of GHG savings achieved by Jatropha mainly depend on three factors: seed yield, oil yield and nitrogen fertilizer. A conservative base case scenario for locally produced Jatropha biodiesel assuming a seed yield of 3 tons of seeds per hectare, an oil yield of 0.24 tons of oil per ton of seed, and 44 kg of nitrogen fertilizer per ha per year already allows for 39% of GHG savings compared to fossil fuels. In case the biodiesel is used locally, this value goes up to 48%. Sun Biofuels Mozambique is targeting seed yield of 6t/ha/year, this raises the GHG savings to 65%. However the most influencing factor is nitrogen fertilizer. If Sun Biofuels Mozambique achieves to completely substitute nitrogen fertilizers by organic fertilizer (e.g. Jatropha seed cake) the GHG saving balance could go up to 73%.

The authors have also calculated the impact of land use change on GHG savings by using the default values from the European Commission. Sun Biofuels Mozambique cultivates perennial Jatropha on former annual cropland, thereby realizing significant GHG saving potential of 380%. This is due to the fact that trees are planted in place of idle land or perennial crops ‘fixing’ carbon in an additional CO2 sink.

The encouraging GHG savings of Jatropha make it an ideal source for biofuels for the aviation industry, who are pushing hard to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

For further information please see the original press release here

Webinar Thursday 10th February

Our next webinar is on Thursday 10th February at 1pm Eastern.

It will cover our Southern Zone, Renewable Energy Farm opportunity:

Attend and find out lots more about

• The Opportunity
• Jatropha, Macauba and Biofuels
• The Southern Zone
• United Biofuels of America
• Much more

To read more and register just click here

Solving Haiti's Problem With Jatropha

In describing the problems Haiti faces in the wake of its devastating January earthquake, it's hard to know where to start. But two of the key ones that immediately come to mind are 1). food security and the 2). country's rampant record of environmental degradation. (To date, Haitians have cut through more than 90% of its forest to generate charcoal for food preparation.)

Both are urgent priorities for both donors and the Haitian government alike. But what if you could solve both problems at once?

Gael Pressoir, a geneticist and former researcher at Cornell University, says it's possible. Pressoir has been exploring the use of a plant that can be transformed not only into food, but fuel. The plant, called jatropha, is already being used in African countries. Likewise, an edible kind of jatropha is grown by indigenous communities in Mexico.

Pressoir believes it the plant can be grown in Haiti, too — with potentially incredible results. Jatropha is rich in protein like a soybean meal. Oil from jatropha can also be burned to fuel stoves, which would decrease the need to cut through forests for charcoal. Meanwhile, jatropha is a tree that can likewise be used to reforest barren land and stabilize its soil.

And wait — there's more. Jatropha oil can be transformed into biodiesel, and in a country largely dependent on diesel, that's a fact that could make a huge fiscal difference. According to Pressoir, diesel accounts for 50% of Haiti's fuel dependency. (Just last year, Haiti imported $380 million in diesel for its electrical generators and you can read detailed coverage on this in the New York Times here.)

“Diesel is the second largest commodity market in Haiti,” says Pressoir. “So there is a huge local market for diesel or diesel substitute.”

Right now, Pressoir and his nonprofit venture CHIBAS are working with the help of USAID and L'Agence Nationale De La Recherche in France to explore what could be a market of half a billion dollars. Haiti's Ministry of Agriculture is backing the jatropha initiative, too, though the government worries jatropha might interfere with traditional food crops. Those concerns have been addressed, says Pressoir, and more than a million acres have been identified for jatropha plantations that won't bleed the local farming economy.

Is jatropha a viable solution to both Haiti’s food and energy security issues? I'd say it looks quite promising. The plant is a sound investment — and a potentially powerful way to kill two birds with one stone.

To read more and see the full article on Jatropha World Costa Rica click here

Renewable Energy Farm vs Condo, which is best investment?

Biofuel renewable energy farms: what are the returns?

Be a part of the Green Energy Revolution

Did you miss the PC investment opportunity in the 1990's

Or worse did you invest just before the tech stock crash

Goldman Sachs says that "investing in Biofuel is akin to going back in time to 1990 and investing in the PC revolution"

If you didn't make your fortune in the PC revolution, then please don't miss the biofuel revolution.

Texans and Arab Sheiks know that owning your own oilfield gives you a guaranteed income and yearly price increases.

Now you can own your own Green Oilfield for just US$35,000

We are delighted to launch our newest project, which combines biofuels and development land in Costa Rica

Attend this webinar and you'll find out about an opportunity which can guarantee your financial future.

James Cahill from Costa Rica Invest, is joined by Daniel Yepez, president of United Biofuels of America and Michael Klein, Chief Operating officer of Inited Biofuels of America in the launch of the new Green Oilfield Revolution.

United Biofuels of America are the world leader in Jatropha (biofuel) research and have been selected as one of Shell Oils top 25 Global Energy Entrepreneurs. See more here

And the best part about this is...you can be part of this phenomenal event from the comfort of your own home or office! And, you'll have an opportunity to ask questions.

This is a strictly limited private release prior to general advertisment.

If you care about your financial future, register to attend this Webinar now

Title: Now you can own a Green Oilfield

Date: Thursday, November 18, 2010 Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Macintosh®-based attendees Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

Costa Rica Investments in Bio-fuel, and Sustainable Agro Developments

The Costa Rica News 19th October 2010

TRCN staff

Central America and especially Costa Rica has seen a large surge in Biofuel initiative. There new Biofuel cooperative projects, intercropping (with food and oil bearing plants) development, including a new investment wave called Multi Purpose Real Estate, UBA (United Biofuels of America.

Investing in bio-fuel is profitable in the short term and long term and helps reduce dependency on unstable foreign sources.

Here in Costa Rica the governmental bodies have full buy-in to renewable energy and sustainable agro developments.

Costa Rica is attempting to produce ethanol and biodiesel on a large enough scale to eventually reduce or even replace petroleum fuel. The state oil company, Recope, is constructing a large processing plant, the government is about to release a plan for the industry’s development, and the Institute for Agrarian Development, is engaged in research projects for certain products to convert to biofuels.

At present, ethanol is produced from sugar cane and to a lesser extent from yuca (cassava), a root crop. There is some production of bio-diesel from African Palm oil. Research is ongoing with respect to very promising oil seed crops for biodiesel, higuerilla and jatropha.

There is ample opportunity for investments in these crops to supply a local and international market. Petroleum prices are expected to remain at high levels. Biofuels reduce vehicle emissions when mixed with or replace gasoline or diesel. However, when biofuels are produced on a large scale there are also large scale environmental and social consequences, especially when the source of ethanol is corn or soybeans for biodiesel or when growing crops that displace food crops or convert forests to crop lands.

These adverse environmental and social consequences are mitigated when biofuel crops are grown on land that had been previously deforested and converted to cattle pasture. In Northern Costa Rica there are vast expanses of unproductive cattle pasture, much of it mechanizable and not requiring irrigation. This is a good opportunity to promote the conversion of cattle lands to socially useful and productive crops. This is already occurring with the proliferation of pineapple, root crop, and palmito plantings. However, it makes good sense to plant many more food crops there, such as rice, beans, and animal feed, while still leaving space for biofuel crop cultivation.

Presently, there is a project that involves an effort to plant thousands of hectares of jatropha in Costa Rican and other countries. The oil from the seed is converted to diesel and no modification of diesel motors is required. Yield is high, production costs for the hardy plant are low, and demand is potentially infinite, including for aviation fuel. The company engaged in the project invites equity participation, as well as offering technical assistance and production contracts to growers.

An excellent investment for animal feed is in pejibaye, a palm nut fruit that is very high in protein and other nutrients. Research on pejibaye has demonstrated that it is superior to corn or other grains for animal feed, especially for poultry. The fruit is also very nutritious for human consumption, including for baby food. Pejibaye palm is very productive, much higher yield than grains, and has a low cost of production. Costa Rica spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually in importing grains for animal feed and development of this high yield crop would be an excellent import-substitution measure and help reduce the nation’s chronic balance of payment deficits. The export market for prepared chicken feed would also be excellent. To accomplish this on a large enough scale to make a difference will require the support of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Institute for Agrarian Development, and other government planning institutions.

With recent increases in food prices Costa Rican officials and the general public has become concerned about food sovereignty, that is the cost and availability of food imports. While Costa Rica is largely self-sufficient in fruits and vegetable, dairy products, and meat and fish, this is far from the case with the basic staples of the population’s diet, rice and beans. Domestic production accounts for less than half national consumption of these staples. Corn and other grains are almost entirely imported. There is ample land for mechanized cultivation of these crops, especially in the Northern Zone.

To read the full story go to The Costa Rica News 19th October 2010

Costa rican Company selected in Top 25 Energy Entrepreneurs

Daniel Yepez of United Biofuels of America (UBA) is one of an elite few has been selected by Shell Oil sponsored program - Energy Entrepreneurs.

UBA is based in Costa Rica and concentrates on Biofuel development. The various initiatives are part of the Million Gallon Challenge - a goal to produce one million gallons of green diesel per day.

UBA's most recent project is the Multi Purpose Real Estate. Investors in this program benefit from quarterly returns from Japtropha and maca-uba growing on their development land. These lots are part of a gated community and are fully serviced with water, electricity and road access.

Investors can choose to build sooner or later whilst their "oil field" grows them money every day. Alternatively the pure investor can benefit from the quarterly returns and the rapid appreciation of land prices.

To read more about Shell's Energy Entrepreneurs click here

To read more about this project click here.

To read more about UBA in The Costa Rica News click here