Illinois-based Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., the nation's largest corn ethanol producer, is planning on entering the Brazilian sugar cane ethanol production market soon by making one or more investments in the country's production infrastructure, company executives said this week.
ADM is exploring the construction of sugar cane mills and ethanol plants in Brazil from scratch as well as acquiring sugar cane companies. ADM Senior Vice President of Strategy Steve Mills said that the company may also buy Cosan SA, Brazil's largest ethanol producer in which ADM already owns a small stake.
Sugar cane ethanol is "a key component" of ADM's short-term strategy, Mills said. "We're devoting a lot of time and energy to this area. We're not talking about something 10 years down the road. It's on the front burner," he said. "At the right price and the right opportunity, we've got the wherewithal to make a significant investment."
The U.S. Senate voted this week to extend the 54 cent-per-gallon import tariff on foreign-produced ethanol until 2010. ADM is supportive of the tariff and its potential investment in Brazil "doesn't necessarily signal we're changing policy," Mills said (Etter/Regalado, Wall Street Journal [subscription required], June 22).
U.K. government incentives that would fund domestic biofuels producers based on the amount of carbon dioxide their fuels prevented being released will kick in in 2010, the government announced yesterday.
Argent Energy CEO Andy Hunter said he supported the government timeframe for carbon and sustainability schemes, but Renewable Energy Association head Clare Wenner said her group had questions about the "certainty of clear timeframes."
"Carbon incentives can only be effective when they are based on real data obtained through practical experience. Many are fearful that the aggressive timescales suggested by the government today will simply present an incentive for inaccurate and erroneous reporting," Wenner said. "This would be an environmental own-goal."
The U.K. Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation measure already mandates that five percent of all vehicular fuels must come from biofuels by 2010, which the government expects to yield 1 million tons in CO2 savings per year.
There is also a government-mandated 2011 deadline requiring biofuels producers to only receive incentives if business sustainability targets are met (Reuters/PlanetArk, June 22). -- RJD
Advertisement
