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Cool Planet, Acritaz To Turn Palm Waste Into Biofuel In Malaysia

Details Category: Bioenergy 03 Oct 2013 Published on Thursday, 03 October 2013 Palm plantation waste will be made into biofuel and biochar Biorefinery developer Cool Planet Energy Systems and Acritaz Greentech will be building commercial facilities in Malaysia to transform palm plantation waste products – empty husks, wood, and bark waste – into biofuel and biochar Acritaz Greentech, a group of companies that bring biomass processing and bio-technology innovations to plantations, has signed an agreement with Cool Planet to explore the building of multiple commercial biomass processing facilities using Cool Planet technology in Malaysia. Cool Planet develops small-scale biorefineries that convert non-food biomass into biofuels and biochar, a soil enhancing substance. They recently announced an agreement with Concord Energy to establish a joint venture in the Asia Pacific Region to develop biofuel facilities (see related story ). “We are pleased to be working with Acritaz Greentech, a group that is known for their technology leadership in biomass processing and bio-technology in Malaysia, to deploy our biofuels and biochar technology,” said Cool Planet Chief Executive Officer Howard Janzen. Acritaz and Cool Planet will use biomass raw materials that are abundant in Malaysia – such as palm plantation waste – to create renewable cellulosic fuels for the Asian market. They will develop a plant design that satisfies the specific needs of Malaysia with the first such plant to begin construction in 2014. “Acritaz is excited to commercialize Cool Planet’s platform technology to bring drop-in fuels to the Malaysian fuel market,” said Looi Kem Loong, a director at Acritaz. “This is the kind of breakthrough technology that Acritaz wants to deploy.” Acritaz will work to commit $60 million for this first facility before the end of 2013. They plan to locate this facility in the Malaysian state of Johor. The two companies will then work to build multiple such facilities across Malaysia, with Acritaz purchasing proprietary equipment and consumables from Cool Planet. – EcoSeed Staff Continue reading

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China Reveals Details Of First Carbon Trading Scheme

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/9221daf4-c221-11e2-ab66-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2U1lYNuu9 By Leslie Hook in Beijing Operating details of China’s first pilot carbon-trading scheme, in Shenzhen, have been released as it gets ready to launch next month, and as the country prepares to roll out seven pilot schemes by 2014. The world’s biggest carbon emitter, China is planning to experiment with carbon trading schemes during the next three years as it seeks to cut emissions. Beijing is targeting a 40 per cent reduction in emissions relative to economic output by 2020, from 2005 levels, but hasn’t identified what means it will use to reach that goal. The Shenzhen Carbon Exchange, the smallest of the seven in terms of total emissions, announced on Tuesday that its trading scheme would cover 635 industrial and construction companies, accounting for 38 per cent of Shenzhen’s total emissions in 2010. The exchange will launch on June 18. “Shenzhen, with it being the first exchange to officially launch, is going to be looked at very closely,” said Richard Chatterton, analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The exchange said it will add transportation to its scheme soon, and eventually include all major companies that consume oil, coal, gas and power. Emissions trading schemes encourage companies to curb their carbon dioxide emissions by setting a limit, or cap, on the level of carbon dioxide that can be emitted in a country or region, and then distributing permits equal to one tonne of carbon to each emitter. Cleaner companies can sell their permits to firms that pollute more, and therefore need more permits to meet their individual cap. This sets a price on carbon dioxide, the main manmade greenhouse gas scientists say is responsible for climate change. Although carbon trading schemes elsewhere have faltered, most recently with the near collapse of the carbon market in the EU, Beijing’s plans to test out carbon trading are still forging ahead. South Korea is also planning to implement a trading scheme that will be tested next year and go into force in 2015. Despite the setbacks in the EU, whose carbon trading scheme is by far the world’s largest, California launched an emissions trading scheme at the start of this year and is due to link it with a similar system in Quebec, Canada. Australia passed legislation in 2011 for an emissions trading scheme, which the government says will be linked with the EU scheme in 2015. China’s seven pilot schemes – in the cities of Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing, and the provinces of Guangdong and Hubei – represent the first step towards what might become a nationwide carbon trading scheme after 2015. By 2015, trading schemes will cover around seven per cent of China’s total carbon emissions, according to estimates from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Beijing hasn’t clearly identified its plans for the exchanges after 2015. The Shenzhen exchange took pains to describe how it would avoid corruption and human error during the quota allocation process by using automatic calculations to assign the quotas. It also said the initial quota allocation will be flexible, varying each year according to a company’s revenue growth and that the overall quota can be raised if need be. One of the most thorny issues for China’s exchanges is that prices for electricity – which accounts for the bulk of carbon emissions – are tightly controlled by the state. Without freely floating electricity prices, imposing a carbon price on electricity producers becomes meaningless. A press officer for the Shenzhen exchange said that coal-fired power plants would be included in its trading scheme but this was not detailed in Tuesday’s press conference. Shenzhen, a manufacturing hub, draws much of its power from nearby nuclear plants on the coast and has fewer coal-fired power plants than cities such as Beijing or Shanghai. China’s new leaders, who took the helm in March, have promised to try to clean up the toxic pollution that has become a growing social issue across the country. Beijing also issued carbon emissions targets to every province under the 2011–2015 five-year plan. It is unclear how these provincial goals will be monitored or met. China’s biggest source of carbon emissions is coal-burning power plants, which account for more than 60 per cent of its electricity supply. The Shanghai pilot exchange is expected to launch before the end of June and Beijing shortly thereafter. David Tang, board secretary of the Tianjin Carbon Exchange, told the FT the exchange there would start trading before the end of the year, without identifying a date. Continue reading

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