As South American nations rush to achieve energy independence and become the next Venezuela, oil exploration and treasure hunts for profitable and reliable energy sources have increased in countries like Uruguay, Ecuador, Brazil, and Chile.
This past Friday, the U.S. company Pure Biofuels opened up a new biodiesel plant in Lima, Peru. It plans to produce 52 million gallons of biodiesel next year, about 35% of which will meet Peru’s internal demands for the alternative fuel. The rest will be exported. The plant has the capacity to increase its production threefold, and hopes to eventually produce 156 million gallons of biodiesel per year. Production has yet to start at the new plant, but will later this year.
The new plant is only the second to open its doors in Peru. The other biodiesel plant opened in January and will produce about 48 million gallons each year. So with biodiesel on the rise, could this be the start of a new energy boom coming out of Peru? It is difficult to know.
Pure Biofuels is currently growing Jatropha plants to make its fuel, and might also use algae. The company has already planted 5000 acres with 360,000 Jatropha plants. The plants are grown for their seeds, which are then crushed for the oil inside. Jatropha can be very easily grown in arid, dry environments, making its potential profitability attractive to a number of countries around the world. Pure Biofuels claims that it is planting “on marginal land that is unsuitable for growing crops” and therefore argues that their biofuel operation is not taking land away from agriculture– thus addressing one of the major criticisms directed toward biofuels.
But the Jatropha plants might not turn out to be the panacea they are hoped to be. A recent article discusses how despite tremendous interest in the idea, Kenyan farmers have had been challenged to figure out the agricultural requirements for successfully growing Jatropha species and have also found it increasingly difficult to pay for the expensive seeds. Now the Kenyan government is going to step in and help the effort nationally, although the country currently lacks a substantial internal market for the fuel. Other countries like India have had more success to date using Jatropha plants to make biodiesel, and Peru and Pure Biofuels can only hope to follow in their footsteps, rather than have things turn out badly.
Another negative factor for biodiesel production in Peru is that President Alan Garcia has shown little interest in supporting the development of alternative fuels and energy sources in Peru. In April of this year he even blamed ethanol and biofuel production in other countries as the reason for why food prices are increasing in Peru.
While Garcia does not like biofuels, he does like oil. He has been pushing for greater oil exploration in the country’s Amazon Rainforest regions, as well as all across the country. He wants Peru to become a huge exporter of oil, even though the country would be arriving pretty late to the game.
If Garcia were truly looking out for the country’s interests, then he would instead be looking to wind and solar power to help Peru meet its energy demands. The country has a long strip of coastline that borders a very windy and sunny desert. These areas would probably be suitable for a large number of profitable wind and solar power operations. So far, however, no major efforts have commenced to develop these kinds of technologies.
President Garcia also said this past week that “there is no energy crisis” in Peru despite recent power outages and energy shortages. The country has received less rain this year than usual and normally gets about 70% of its power from hydroelectric plants. Consequently it has needed to rely more on natural gas. When statements of denial like the one written above come from Garcia, it makes it seem unlikely that Peru’s government will support alternative energy technologies and fuels at this time. According to a recent poll, Garcia has a 31% approval rate–his lowest ever during his 2nd term as president– so his ability to make major energy changes in Peru might be small anyway.
On the positive side, Pure Biofuels says that this year they employed 500 people to help grow the Jatropha plants they will use to start producing biodiesel. They estimate that the plant growing operation might eventually provide up to 12,000 new jobs. If this many jobs are created in a developing country like Peru through production of alternative fuels, then we might just see the arrival of a biodiesel boom in coming years.
Read More About Biofuels in South America on the Green Options Network:
Brazilian Ethanol– Is it More Efficient or Less Mechanized?
US Public Has Zero Desire for Brazil’s Ethanol; Should It?
Photo Credit: jsbarrie on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
I am a Peruvian, and it’s no surprise for me that Mr. Garcia denies an energy Crisis. Happend that he is only playing for the big ligue Oilmen. His misguided energy policies is favoring Gas and Oil companies in detriment of renovable hydraulic energy generation. The current price of the Gas-Electricity Generation is ridiculous . Not to mention that he has no plans for alternative energy. Because he repeats over and over that the Gas will last for 40 years.
Very nice