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50 results
Bioeconomy in Thailand: a case study
The document describes Thailand's top-down approach to developing a bioeconomy focused on adding value to existing commodities like sugarcane and cassava. It highlights a model where the private sector drives innovation while the government facilitates through tax incentives, R&D funding, and regulatory easing. However, the authors note significant challenges regarding social equity, as the system prioritizes large industrial players over smallholder farmers.
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Document type: Research paper
Energy and GHG balances of ethanol production from cane molasses in Indonesia
The study finds that ethanol produced from cane molasses in Indonesia results in a 67% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to gasoline, with emissions estimated at 29 gCO2e per MJ. While the Net Energy Value is -7 MJ/l, the Net Renewable Energy Value is 17.7 MJ/l and the energy yield ratio is 6.1. The analysis indicates that results are highly sensitive to molasses price, ethanol yield, and sugarcane yield, and suggests that energy and environmental gains can be improved through biogas recovery from wastewater and surplus bioelectricity generation via efficient cogeneration using sugarcane biomass residues.
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Document type: Research paper
Bringing clean, safe, affordable cooking energy to Kenyan households: an agenda for action
The document highlights that 76% of Kenyans rely on traditional biomass for cooking, leading to significant public health crises and economic losses. It argues that while Kenya is a leader in clean cookstove distribution, large-scale transformation requires removing market barriers, such as high import duties, and regulating the charcoal sector. The brief recommends a shift from end-user subsidies to upstream value chain support and the adoption of human-centered design to ensure long-term stove usage.
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Document type: Policy brief
Agricultural investment and rural transformation: a case study of the Makeni bioenergy project in Sierra Leone
The report evaluates the Makeni Project, a 400 million EUR sugarcane bioethanol investment by Addax Bioenergy Sierra Leone (ABSL). While the project has introduced infrastructure, formal wage labour, and high-productivity rice cultivation through its Farmer Development Programme, it has also created challenges including labour scarcity during growing seasons, price inflation, and increased competition for water and food. The study concludes that while FDI can provide significant capital and technology, it cannot replace the public sector, and the transformative potential of such investments is diminished without supporting government investment and strong governance.
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Document type: Report
Agro-industrial foreign investment and rural transformation: Lessons from the Makeni Project in Sierra Leone
The Makeni Project has provided significant infrastructure, employment, and agricultural training in Sierra Leone, but its transformative potential is limited by poor government oversight and risks to local resource access.
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Document type: Policy brief
UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS IS THE BIOETHANOL AND BIODIESEL PRODUCED ENTIRELY IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY SUSTAINABLE?
The document evaluates the environmental sustainability of first-generation biofuels produced in the Basque Country using an innovative methodology that integrates the SIMSNIC agronomic model with life cycle analysis. The study focuses on bioethanol from wheat and biodiesel from rapeseed in the La Llanada Alavesa area. It finds that while biofuels are more energy efficient than fossil fuels, meeting the EU's mandatory 35% greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target is unlikely under current mineral fertilisation conditions, particularly in nitrate-vulnerable areas. Organic fertilisation increases the likelihood of meeting GHG targets but exacerbates water contamination, soil acidification, and land-use competition. The authors conclude that the agricultural stage, specifically nitrogen fertilisation and climatology, is the primary driver of the carbon footprint due to nitrous oxide emissions.
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Document type: Policy brief
Investigating ecology and poverty dimensions of biomass use and energy access: methodological issues
The document argues that traditional techno-economic approaches to energy access are insufficient and proposes an ecosystem services lens to better understand how biomass use affects human welfare and the environment. It details three primary research methodologies: demand-side surveys, supply and value chain analysis, and economic modeling of consumer choice, with a particular focus on the charcoal sector in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Document type: Briefing
Ethanol: towards a viable alternative for domestic cooking in Ethiopia
The document argues that ethanol has high potential as a cooking fuel in Ethiopia, particularly in urban areas, but requires regulatory reform and stronger government commitment to attract private sector investment and overcome barriers like kerosene subsidies.
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Document type: Briefing
REGIONAL BUSINESS BARRIERS UNLOCKING ECONOMIC POTENTIAL IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
The document serves as a framework for analyzing the business-enabling environment and economic indicators in Southern Africa. It utilizes nine specific case studies to examine barriers to economic growth, including access to finance in Malawi, regulatory constraints on fuel ethanol markets in SADC, alternative energy in mining, access to medicines, the SADC univisa, regional transit bonds, non-tariff barriers at Beit Bridge, the Non-Tariff Barrier Monitoring Mechanism, and logistics development in Walvis Bay.
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Document type: Report
Bioenergy technology roadmap for Colombia
The roadmap proposes two visions for Colombia's bioenergy sector: one focusing on new technologies (biomethane and biomass-based power/CHP) and another combining these with the expansion of first-generation biofuels. Modeling indicates that while both scenarios increase the bioenergy share in power and gas supply, they cannot prevent an overall decline in bioenergy's share of primary energy demand due to rapid GDP growth and urbanization. The most effective emissions reductions come from power generation and CHP, particularly by avoiding methane release from landfills and animal waste. Scenario I is identified as the most efficient in terms of emissions reduction per additional hectare of land, whereas Scenario II's ambitious biofuel targets would require significant imports as domestic land is insufficient.
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Document type: Report
Bioenergy in a changing climate: Linking mitigation and adaptation in the Nordic region
The document analyzes how climate change affects the production, logistics, and consumption of bioenergy in the Nordic region, specifically Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. While warming temperatures may increase biomass productivity in Northern Europe, the region faces risks from extreme weather and pest infestations. The brief argues for diversifying supply chains and increasing fuel flexibility to build resilience against climate-driven disruptions in global bioenergy trade.
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Document type: Policy brief
Biofuels - At What Cost?
The report assesses the economic and environmental impacts of UK biofuel policies in 2011, highlighting the financial support provided to the industry, the varying carbon abatement costs between ethanol and biodiesel, and the range of jobs created by the sector.
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Document type: Report
Biofuels—At What Cost?
The report analyzes the costs and benefits of France's biofuel policies in 2011, finding that while bioethanol provides some emission reductions, conventional biodiesel often leads to net emission increases due to indirect land-use change (ILUC). Financial support for the sector, primarily through blending mandates and excise tax exemptions, is estimated between €782 million and €1.01 billion. The study also notes that biodiesel's reliance on imported feedstocks limits its contribution to energy security compared to bioethanol.
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Document type: Report
Biofuels—At What Cost?
The report analyzes the costs and benefits of U.K. biofuel policies, focusing on the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) for the 2011/2012 period. It finds that total support for biofuels ranged between £359 million and £445 million, with biodiesel receiving the bulk of this support due to excise tax exemptions for used cooking oil (UCO). While UCO-based biodiesel offers the lowest carbon abatement costs, conventional biodiesel can lead to net emission increases due to indirect land-use change (ILUC). The report also notes that employment gains are difficult to quantify and that the U.K.'s reliance on U.S. corn for bioethanol may pose energy security risks.
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Document type: Report
Biofuels—At What Cost?
The document updates the 2011 subsidy estimates for EU biofuels, reducing the total estimated support from €9,272–€10,653 million to €5,515–€6,896 million. This correction stems from an overestimation of the volume of biofuels eligible for fuel excise tax exemptions. While budgetary support figures for bioethanol and biodiesel were lowered, other support elements, such as market transfers, remain unchanged. The report also details the calculation methodologies for excise tax exemptions and market price support via blending mandates.
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Document type: Report
Biofuel Production and its Impacts on Local Livelihoods in Tanzania
The paper examines the early stages of biofuel production in Tanzania, specifically in Rufiji and Bagamoyo, highlighting significant failures in land acquisition and governance. It finds that discrepancies between national policy and local implementation led to conflicts of interest, inadequate compensation for farmers, and unfulfilled community benefit promises. The study argues that the Tanzanian government's drive for foreign investment has outpaced its capacity to protect citizen rights, creating vulnerabilities that can be exploited by resource-rich investors.
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Document type: Research paper
Biofuels in Zambia: Panacea or Problem?
The research paper examines the failure of the biofuels sector in Zambia, where government goals for poverty reduction and energy security were undermined by a lack of policy safeguards and infrastructure. It highlights how the drive for export-market cash crops like jatropha threatened local food security and how many foreign investors eventually abandoned their projects due to economic downturns and technical failures.
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Document type: Research paper
Alternative Future Pathways for Household Biomass Use in Ethiopia
The document analyzes the reliance of Ethiopian households on traditional biomass, which accounts for approximately 90% of total primary energy use. Using the LEAP model, it compares a baseline scenario with 'moderate shift' and 'high shift' scenarios. The findings indicate that transitioning to improved cookstoves and electricity could reduce biomass demand by 53% to 67% compared to the baseline by 2030, while contributing significantly to national GHG reduction targets.
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Document type: Briefing
Proceedings of the National Seminar on Bioenergy
The proceedings detail a national seminar in Malawi focused on shifting from traditional biomass (firewood and charcoal) to modern bioenergy (bioethanol and biodiesel). Key discussions include the potential of Jatropha as a boundary crop to avoid food-fuel competition, the efficiency of improved cookstoves like the rocket stove, and the socio-economic benefits of sugarcane outgrower schemes. The document emphasizes the need for a coherent national policy to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and mitigate deforestation.
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Document type: Report
Biofuels and their potential to aid the UK towards achieving emissions reduction policy targets
The study evaluates the greenhouse gas emissions of various biodiesel and bio-ethanol feedstocks compared to fossil fuels. It finds that waste cooking oil and sugarbeet offer the highest emissions savings, but the current feedstock mix would require a 23.8% market share by 2020 to meet the LCTP's 6% emissions saving goal.
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Document type: Research paper