EU to study and support Guyana's biofuels sector

A two-member delegation from the European Union (EU) is in the South American country of Guyana to identify possible areas where the EU may be able to support the country’s biofuel plans, which have gained momentum over the last few weeks.

The two officials are traveling to the six regions in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, who enjoy a special relationship with the EU when it comes to sugar exports. Guyana was identified as the first country for study within the Caribbean. The two experts determined that Guyana has a very interesting set of biofuel projects and policies, and that in the coming years, there will be plenty of efforts globally to develop bioenergy. They related that the information gathered will be used to advise policy makers in the EU. The Union may then assist Guyana in acquiring biofuel technologies and in the creation of export markets and appropriate policy frameworks.

Bernard Duhamel and Jean Raux, the two experts from France, met with Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud to discuss the core elements of Guyana’s biofuel plans. Persaud told the EU officials that Guyana prefers to look at sugarcane production for ethanol and utilise coconut as a potential for biodiesel.

Persaud gave assurances that Guyana intends to use land that is currently uncultivated. He said that Guyana is currently examining five investment proposals and has identified 50,000 hectares of land in Canje, Region Six, for cane cultivation. He said that the investor will have to bear the cost of development of the land within the cost model, adding that there is an existing infrastructure for shipping. "Primarily we see this as private sector investment and, at the end of the day, it is the investor that will have to come and run the numbers," Persaud stated.

He pointed to the recent biofuel study conducted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), entitled "Biofuel Potential in Guyana" (earlier post). The report concluded that present conditions of the energy and agro-industrial sector of Guyana provide an excellent opportunity for the production and use of ethanol as a source of fuel in the country:
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The report stated that when considering costs, available technology and energy productivity, sugar cane, directly as juice or as molasses, presents the most attractive option. In time, other possibilities may be considered.

In the most conservative scenario, using final molasses, producing 8.8 litres of ethanol per tonne of processed sugar cane, the report estimated that 30.8 million litres of ethanol may be obtained annually from the sugar cane industry in Guyana. This would be nearly 3 times the anticipated demand of 11.5 million litres, if a mixture of gasoline with 10 percent ethanol was to be used in Guyana’s vehicles.

Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo has established an Inter-Ministry/Agency Working Group on Biofuels/Agro-energy.

The ECLAC report advised that the promotion of ethanol as a source of fuel in Guyana requires the collaboration of all institutions and stakeholders arriving at an operational mechanism for the introduction of ethanol within the energy sector.

For such an initiative to be successful, the report stated, clear timelines should be established and commitments obtained. There should also be the component of building public awareness as well as involvement of the local science and technology community.