Europe’s maximum biofuel production capacity only 20 percent of its energy needs, analyst says

In Europe, the Director of Biofuels Projects at Teréos told Ethanol Statistics that Europe would not be able to produce more than 20 percent of its own fuel needs from biomass. Bernard Chaud said that the maximum biofuel production capacity of Europe is 30 million tonnes per year, including both first and second-generaiton biofuels. The European Commission has projected that Europe will cover 14 percent of its energy needs with biomass by 2020, but Chaud said 10 percent is more feasible.

European producers recently staged a protest rally in Germany attended by over 100 biodiesel industry members, which included a coffin to simulate the state of the German biodiesel industry. The executive director of BBK, the German renewable fuels association, said that the German biodiesel industry is producing at only 10 percent of capacity, down from 20 percent in November, and that the industry is in a state of collapse.
Meanwhile, the  European Union has published a draft law banning the importation of biofuels grown in forests, grassland or wetlands, and deliver a minimum of greenhouse gas emission reductions. The ban is expected to affect palm oil based imports due to deforestation, South American ethanol and biodiesel with grassland or forest land use issues, and US corn ethanol due to lower emissions savings.

Last week, a consortium of 17 non-governmental organizations called on EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs to require sustainability standards for biofuel production or eliminate biofuels mandates.

The NGOs were responding to a draft biofuels mandate for the EU which will be finalized later this month and raises the use of biofuels to 10 percent of all fuels by 2020. The NGOs said that the plan did not fully address water shortage and deforestation issues. The NGOs called for a ban on the use of sugar cane, corn, and some varieties of canola and palm oils in biofuels production. The NGOs proposed threshold, that only feedstocks producing a minimum savings of 50 percent in CO2, has won significant support in the European Parliament.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

BioFuel Energy launches 110 Mgy corn ethanol plant at 50 percent capacity

In Minnesota, BioFuel Energy commenced operations at a 110 Mgy corn ethanol plant in Fairmont, running at 50 percent capacity and using corn purchased before the recent run-up in commodity prices. ...

Biofuel Energy commences ethanol shipments from Nebraska, Minnesota as new plants reach 90% capacity

In Colorado, Biofuel Energy said that it had commenced shipping ethanol from its two 115 Mgy corn ethanol plants in Nebraska and Minnesota. The company said that it shipped 2 million gallons in its fi...

BioFuel gets boost from analyst: “BioFuel shares continue to be valued well below its construction costs”

BioFuel (BIOF) and VeraSun Energy (VSE) reported quarterly results, with BIOF showing a $0.12 loss per share for overhead expenses and VSE declaring earnings of $0.08. Commenting on the resulots,, Ray...

Biofuels Digest Indexâ„¢ up 1.12% today as sector brushes off analyst downgrades

The Biofuels Digest Indexâ„¢ (BDI), a basket of 21 major public biofuel stocks, rose 1.12% to 99.98 as biofuel stocks rose in line with the general market despite analyst pessimism about the prosp...

US BioEnergy beats analyst estimates handily as merger with VeraSun Energy nears

In South Dakota, US BioEnergy announced operating earnings of $0.05 per share,  beating the consensus analysts projected loss of $0.02 per share. The company benefited from a corn hedging strategy ...

Biofuels Stock and Financial Outlook for September 24: Stocks expected to open higher as further interest rate cuts considered

Stocks are expected to open higher Monday after futures prices rose for all the major indices roughly 0.3 percent overnight. Biofuel stocks have a more pessimistic outlook as editorial against ethanol...