Promoting Bioethanol Production through Clean Development Mechanism: Findings and lessons learnt from ASIATIC project

Global climate change mitigation policies call for increasing use of biomass fuels as renewable substitutes to fossil energy resources. Quantified targets for biofuels introduction in to the market exist in the United States, the European Union, and a number of developing countries. In this context, mixing biologically produced ethanol with conventional gasoline represents an attractive technical option allowing for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and lessening the dependence on non-renewable petrol in the transportation sector. This paper investigates technological and socio-economic aspects of ethanol production in developing countries, particularly in China, with special focus on determining eligibility of bioethanol projects for Clean Development Mechanism. Basing on the findings of the ASIATIC study (Agriculture and Small to Medium Scale Industries in Peri-urban Areas through Ethanol Production for Transport In China), we analyse how alcohol fuels can be produced in a sustainable way with mutual benefits between rural and urban people. The bioethanol production cost and life cycle CO2eq emissions were calculated for six different types of feedstock: sugarcane, sugarcane molasses, sweet sorghum juice, cassava, corn, and sorghum bagasse. Implications of the CDM rules and procedures for bioethanol industry were examined under the angles of environmental and economical additionality, and conformity with the principles of sustainable development. It is found that the starch-based (cassava) ethanol production path has the greatest potential for market penetration in China, followed by the conversion route using sugar-based feedstock (sorghum juice, sugarcane molasses). Meanwhile, the lignocelluloses biomass - to - ethanol technology may represent the highest interest for implementation as Clean Development Mechanism project

A Modelling Assessment of the impact of clean development mechanism on electricity generation systems: Case of Shandong Province, China

The electricity generation sector is broadly cited among the most promising domains for implementation of greenhouse gases (GHG) abatement measures intended to achieve the targets set up in the Kyoto Protocol. Meanwhile, considered through the perspective of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), the electricity sector offers attractive business opportunities for investment in GHG mitigation projects which may be beneficial for both industrialised and developing countries. This work aims to identify such GHG emissions reduction projects within the electricity sector that can be eligible for CDM. It is assumed that revenues from sale of the certified emission reductions (CERs) would increase competitiveness of the power generation technologies with lower carbon emission rates, thereby altering economically efficient load order and capacity deployment. Possible range of CDM projects as well as economical and environmental benefits from their implementation were estimated using a least cost electricity system expansion planning model PLANELEC-Pro. It is found that in a reference Chinese province of Shandong the Clean Development Mechanism may contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions by 46.8 million tons (1.64%) compared to the baseline case through the deployment of wind power and advanced clean coal technologies. The total cost of the electricity generation system can be decreased by up to US$ 86 million (0.24%) due to sale of CERs in the international market. Sensitivity analyses were made on the price of CERs which is the main factor having effect on the economical benefits from CDM and the resulting structure of the power generation mix

Boosting the Electricity Sector in West Africa: an Integrative Vision

To improve peoples’ living conditions, Western African countries need to considerably reinforce their electricity supply infrastructures. Retrofitting the existing installations and constructing new generation and transmission facilities require significant financial resources which are very difficult to attract due to the countries specific economic and political conditions. This paper discusses the low performance of the electric power sector of the West African countries and the solution they envisaged to cope with their present electricity crisis. It turns out that the cooperative approach the electricity systems are undertaking within the West African Power Pool project, although positive in number of initiatives, is not sufficient to cope with the challenge of attracting the required funds to meet future regional electricity demand. Another concept is proposed, based on an integrative approach that attempts to solve the capacity needs for the whole region through a competitive market. The restructuring underlying that vision is discussed. It is concluded that implementation of the proposed concept will require a necessary voluntarism and a strong commitment of the countries

GIS modelling of forest wood residues potential for energy use based on forest inventory data: Methodological approach and case study application

This paper presents an approach to perform geo-referenced estimations of forest wood residues availability for energy use based on forest inventory data integration into a GIS. Three different estimation methods are described. The first one evaluates biomass availability based on the application of biomass expansion factors to stem volume data of the forest inventories. The method accounts for forest dynamics and assigns management treatments in function of forest properties. The second method estimates available forest wood residues applying biomass production by tree, derived from field studies, to the inventoried tree species. The third method links inventory data with national statistics of final cuttings of commercial tree species. Useful biomass potential is then estimated based on ecological, logistic and economic constraints. The methods were tested in a case study in Northern Spain where optimal facilities location based on marginal delivery costs and resources competition between facilities were found. Results are presented for three different scenarios. Biomass resources estimations under the different methods result in significant differences. GIS maps of useful biomass availability estimations are presented giving an idea of the optimal locations for bioenergy facilities based on resource availability

Sustainable Liquid Biofuels Development for Transport: Frequently Asked Questions and Review of Initiatives

Increased worldwide concern about the sustainability of large-scale production of liquid biofuels for transport has led certain governments and institutions to start developing sustainability standards in order to assess the environmental and social performances of this production. Several initiatives are being developed worldwide and some controversial issues and questions arise when trying to tackle sustainability assessment in this context. This document comes to enrich a sometimes harsh discussion. Biofuels, as an alternative to a full reliance on fossil fuel and a strategy to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, are increasingly attacked from a point of view of sustainability. The question is raised whether the cure could be worst than the disease

Sustainable Liquid Biofuels for Transport: The Context of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has evolved in 1992 from the former Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) existing since 1980. The SADC aims at regional integration, sustainable growth and alleviation of poverty in the member countries. Fourteen countries make up the Southern African Development Community (SADC): Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Biofuels production represents an opportunity for the region to increase energy supply security and to give a boost to rural economies by opening markets for agricultural surpluses, creating jobs and encouraging mechanization of agricultural practices. However, climatic, agronomic, ecological and policy factors can hamper the industry development in the region. In that sense, a clear definition of objectives and a careful implementation that takes into account sustainability as well as socio-economic aspects are much needed from policy makers

Estimating Energy and Greenhouse gas balances of biofuels: Concepts and methodologies

The interest in developing biofuels has rapidly increased during the last decades followed by a strong controversy about their sustainability. Diverting a large amount of land from agriculture to fuels, impacting forests and grasslands, loss of biodiversity due to large monocropped fields are some threats that inhibit the momentum towards a significant substitution of fossil fuels by biofuels. From a methodological point of view, several estimations of the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from biofuels lead to a large variability of results even if they address the same biofuel pathway. It has been shown that the methods used and the assumptions on data inventories, system boundaries, allocation of resources and emissions may significantly impact the results. In different countries and regions in the world, sustainability standards are being developed in order to limit the promotion of biofuels to those that are environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically effective

The liquid carbon challenge: evolving views on transportation fuels and climate

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109834/1/wene133.pd

BESC knowledgebase public portal†

The BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) is undertaking large experimental campaigns to understand the biosynthesis and biodegradation of biomass and to develop biofuel solutions. BESC is generating large volumes of diverse data, including genome sequences, omics data and assay results. The purpose of the BESC Knowledgebase is to serve as a centralized repository for experimentally generated data and to provide an integrated, interactive and user-friendly analysis framework. The Portal makes available tools for visualization, integration and analysis of data either produced by BESC or obtained from external resources