Peru: the Next Big Biodiesel Producer?

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, reports EcoWorldly.

EcoWorldly says that 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.

TheBioenergySite News Desk

Sign up for our
regular news updates

Latest Bioenergy Industry News

•   Schafer Leads US Delegation to Brazil Conference
•   USDA Invites Applications for Biorefinery Loans
•   Biofuels Not to Blame for Food Price Rises
•   CAP Health Check Will Help Farmers
•   Energy Diversification and Climate Change
•   Immediate Reform of UN Body Urged
•   Project Breaks Solar Efficiency Record
•   Ethanol Agreement Between China and Brazil
•   Ethanol from Sugar for Angola
•   Biodiesel Plant Opens in Danville