In the Philippines, Negros Green Energy Resources will commence a 37 Mgy sweet sorghum ethanol plant in Negros Occidental. Project cost is a P3-billion , on a site at a 15,000 hectare farm. The promoters point out that sorghum has a 100-day growing season, compared to 265 for sugar cane. Ultimate plant capacity is 75 Mgy.

In Pakistan, oil marketing companies, at a meeting of an ethanol blending task force, called for Pakistan to explore alternatives to ethanol. The OMCs said that there was no shortage of gasoline in the country; shortages are most acute in the diesel market. Pakistan, which is facing up to $11 billion in oil imports, had formed the biofuels task force to investigate the production of 65,000 metric tons of biofuels required to fulfill a 5 percent ethanol mandate.

In Canada, Northern Ethanol said that it intends to build a 150 Mgy ethanol plant in Sarnia, Ontario for $210 million. The plant will commence construction later this year and be completed in 2010. Northern Ethanol said they would also build a second facility in Barrie. h

In India, a group of ministers meeting is expected to propose a mandatory B20 blending standard as soon as March. The Agriculture ministry also said that it would set up a biofuel development board, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Ministry of Rural Development has also said it would be able to to manage the board. India’s government is struggling to plan for enough energy to sustain the country on an 8-9 percent growth rate over the next 25 years, which will require a quadrupling of energy supply.

Research News:

In Idaho, a professor at the University of Idaho testified before the state Agriculture Affairs committees in the state House and Senate that corn ethanol production is causing economic “dislocation”. Professor Garth Taylor also identified Brazilian, Argentine and Australian droughts as well as increased Third World demand for the run-up in prices. He also said that the weak dollar, US drought risk, low interest rates and the unsigned Farm Bill have impacted prices.

Policy and Policymakers:

In Massachusetts, Clean Water Action and the Massachusetts Climate Coalition said that the state “must protect land and protect habitat of wildlife and genuinely reduce emissions.” Environmentalists said the government should look at local ecosystems, rail capacity and next-geenration biofuels before committing to first-generation biofuels projects.

Consumer and Fleet News:

In Indiana, a Purdue researcher said that the US will produce ethanol at 13 billion gallons a year in 2008, but that the US distribution system could only handle 12 billion gallons, which will cause a fall in prices or an increase in exports. Wally Tyner said that building terminal blending capacity, new tanks and new rail lines into the terminals, combined with the slow take-up of E85, would cause the country to go into an ethanol shock that would facilitate the price drop.

Financial News:

The Biofuels Digest Indexâ„¢ (BDI), a basket of public biofuels stocks, leaped 3.14 percent to 128.46 on strong performances in the diversified agribusiness sector. For the day, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) rose 3.46 percent to $45.50, while The Andersons (ANDE) jumped 2.85 percent to close at $46.85. Among mid cap ethanol stocks, VeraSun Energy (VSE) was up 23.58 percent to $10.72 to pace the sector. Among small caps, Intrepid Technology & Resources (IESV.OB) rose 21.43 percent to $0.017. while Bio Solutions Manufacturing (BLSM.OB) tumbled 26.83 percent to $0.015.

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