Biofuels Business - April 2011 - (Page 14)

F E AT U R E Ready for an T he tone was more serious this year at the annual World Biofuels Markets Conference, held March 22-24 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The need for liquid transport fuels dominated thinking, delegates were reminded again and again of Brazil’s huge role in the industry, and talk was that second-generation biofuels is going to be big. It’s not quite there, said Heikki Malinen, president and chief executive ofﬁcer (CEO) of engineering and consulting group Pöyry Plc. “At the moment, all the biggest business opportunities are for consultants. Much more work has to be done to ﬁnd other resources that don’t divert food production,” he said, adding that the industry has to be sure not to use up scarce water resources and also push for energy efﬁciency. “At this nascent stage the role of government will be essential.” CLIMATE REVOLUTION Jeremy Rifkin, president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, painted a picture of an economic revolution in which biofuels will play a vital role. “We’ve had two events in the last two-and-a-half years which signal the end game for the great industrial-age based on fossil fuel,” he said. “In July 2008, oil went over $80 a bar(Above) Attendees of the World Biofuels Market Conference heard how biofuels will play a vital role in an economic revolution. 14 Speakers at 2011 World Biofuels Market say its time to move on from being a fossil-fueled world by Chris Lyddon rel. At $125 a barrel, there were food riots in 22 countries.” When oil peaked at $147, that was the economic earthquake, Rifkin said. The ﬁnancial crisis was an aftershock. “We have hit peak globalization,” he said. “Peak oil per capita happened 30 years ago.” He also pointed out the need to tackle the problem of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. “There’s the possibility of a mass extinction this century,” he said. “It’s when energy revolutions coincide with communication revolutions that economic revolutions can happen. We have enough energy for all our species until kingdom come.” The revolution would involve converting every building into a power plant, which would jump start a construction boom, Rifkin said. Buildings are converted and collect the energy including biofuels. That includes, for example, garbage. “What we don’t need we share collaboratively across continents with grid IT,” he said. “Here in Europe, and hopefully around the world, we are on the cusp of a great leap forward.” April 2011 I BIOFUELS BUSINESS I www.BioFuelsBusiness.com http://www.BioFuelsBusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Biofuels Business - April 2011

Biofuels Business - April 2011
Contents
FROM THE EDITOR - Price rise fi nger pointing
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Brazilian conference to examine renewable energy
Cargill acquires Fort Dodge corn wet mill ethanol facility
BP announces expansion of biofuels business in Brazil
New report tracks aviation biofuels collaboration
Suncor doubles production capacity at St. Clair ethanol plant
Canola/rapeseed
COUNTRY FOCUS - Focus on Denmark
Ready for an Energy Revolution
International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo
Global Supploer Profiles
ADF Engineering hires project manager, process engineer
Brock Grain Systems’ M SERIES bins receive award
Ad Index

Biofuels Business - April 2011