Philippine biofuels chief says at least 700,000 hecatres of jatropha in view

In the Philippines, PNOC Alternative Fuels Corporation chairman Renato S. Velasco said that he expected that at least 700,000 hectares of jatropha would be planted in the country, noting that it had been identified as an ideal cultivation locale by the FAO. He said the bulk of cultivation would be in Mindanao.

Using a yield of 300 gallons per acre, the potential capacity represented by his forecast is 455 million gallons of biodiesel. The Chairman stressed that jatropha would be grown only in currently unused land and that no food production land would be switched to fuel.

The Philippines have a B1 and E5 mandate scheduled to go into effect in 2009, rising to B2 and E10 in 2011. Philippine demand for biofuels is expected to rise to 187 million galls of ethanol and 54 gallons of biodiesel by 2011.

This year,  The Department of Agriculture recently said that as of last August, 38,000 hectares were being developed for biofuels, primarily in North Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat provinces and Gen. Santos City.

Eight Philippine companies have pledged more than $350 million towards biofuels production investment. The companies include: Bio-Energy NL, Inc.; E-Cane/Pampanga Industrial Park Corp.; Philippine Agricultural Land Development and Mill, Inc (PALM, Inc.); and Zambo Norte Bioenergy; Philippine National Oil Company-Alternative Fuels Corp., Guidance Management Corp., Fuel, Inc. and Eastern Petroleum.

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