|
|
Home / Bioethanol / News Kazakhstan: Government to introduce biofuel legislation next yearMegan Lampinen Kazakhstan is expected to introduce new legislation for its up and coming biofuels industry in the first half of 2008, reports Reuters. The new laws are aimed at boosting investment and managing the use of crops to avoid shortages in the food industry. The biofuels industry in Kazakhstan is still in the early stages of development, but there are ambitious plans underway. Beisen Donenov, executive director of the Kazakhstan Biofuels Association, believes that the country could become one of the top five biofuel producers in the world. There are currently plans to add two new biofuel plants in the country within the next 18 months. According to vice minister for agriculture Akylbek Kurishbayev, Kazakhstan has the potential to produce 300,000 tonnes of biodiesel a year, with 50% going towards exports. The country could also make as much as 1 billion litres of bioethanol, he added. The country has grown a record amount of wheat this year, a crop that could be used to produce bioethanol. In addition, farmers in the north of the country have started growing rapeseed for feedstock. However, significant hurdles to its ambitions remain. The only biofuel producer in the country at the moment is Biohim Co, a privately owned firm that has found it difficult to offload most of its production so far this year. In fact, operations have stopped at the US$100m plant that it launched last year. Part of the trouble is due to import restrictions in its target export markets. The facility is expected to resume operations in mid-December.
According to the report, another privately owned biofuel plant is expected to launch production of bioethanol in the town of Taraz. The government is also keen to become more directly involved and recently completed a feasibility study on a third plant in the country. This facility, which would be the first state-run venture, would begin operations in northern Kazakhstan in around 18 months. The new plants would primarily target EU countries.
Date: 06.12.2007 Leave your comment
|
|
