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Biofuels a growing industry in Laos
A ccording to the government's renewable energy development strategy, Laos' biofuel production will be about 4 million litres by 2015 and biofuels will make up about 10 percent of total fuel use in the country by 2025.
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| Technicians fill a car with BD5 biofuel during the bio-diesel demonstration. |
“This is the biggest challenge for Laos,” Energy and Mines Deputy Minister Mr Viraphonh Viravong said at the Demonstration of Bio-Diesel Utilisation, held by the ministry and Kolao-Farm & Bio-Energy Co Ltd in Vientiane on Tuesday.
“The 4 million litres of biofuels will be half bio-diesel and half bio-ethanol,” Mr Viraphonh said. “We believe we can meet this goal with the participation of the private sector, the government and local communities.”
Recently Laos has seen many different kinds of plants cultivated for biofuel production, including jatropha, palm, castor, peanut and stone jatropha, by both local people and private investors.
The private sector includes Kolao, which has invested in a jatropha tree project. The oil from jatropha seeds is converted and used to make bio-diesel. So far the company has harvested hundreds of tonnes of jatropha seeds, “and can produce about 2 million litres of bio-diesel or BD5,” Mr Viraphonh said.
BD5 refers to fuel that is 95 percent diesel and five percent biofuel.
Tuesday's bio-diesel demonstration was just the start of the implementation of the government's biofuel programme. The Ministry of Energy and Mines plans to cooperate with other organisations and companies on bio-energy production projects, similar to the cooperation with Kolao. “This is just part of our strategy,” Mr Viraphonh said.
The government aims to promote and support production, processing, service and use of bio-diesel and to reduce imports of fossil diesel.
“We are implementing the Prime Minister's decree on energy saving,” he said, adding that currently energy price fluctuations negatively impact the community and economic development.
The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding on bio-diesel utilisation with Kolao last October and a memorandum on the project implementation in November.
Kolao wants to develop the Mekong River Valley in northern Laos as the world's largest jatropha growing area. The company has plantations in six provinces: Bokeo, Xayaboury, Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Oudomxay and Luang Namtha, according to their website.
Laos could become the first country in the world to mass produce and export crude jatropha oil. Kolao plans to supply crude jatropha oil to Laos and other Southeast Asian countries.
The company hopes to become a leader in the bio-diesel market and to make Laos a major exporter of agricultural products through modernisation of the agriculture industry, their website says.
Jatropha is a perennial species that can grow in arid conditions and in any kind of soil. It is resistant to drought and does not require irrigation. It absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making it an environmentally-friendly crop.
vientiane times
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