RNRF plans biodiesel plant in Coega
Australian-owned Rainbow Nation Renewable Fuels (RNRF) is in the final stages of securing a government license to manufacture biodiesel at Coega-based plant. RNRF has secured an 80-year lease from the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) for 40 hectares of a new industrial development zone near Port Elizabeth.
The proposed plant, still in a designing phase and planned to be operational by September 2009, will be the largest in Africa by producing an estimated 288 million litres of biodiesel per annum – around 3% of South Africa’s diesel fuel needs. Through this, the operation will create 300 – 350 direct jobs as well as up to 700 indirect (or knock-on) employment opportunities.
However, the greatest economic development potential lies in the 5,000 – 10,000 jobs that can be potentially created of the plant sources all its inputs locally – a great prospect for the poverty-stricken Eastern Cape. The plant plans to use one million tonnes of soybeans per year. At present, South Africa only produces around a quarter of that, resulting in a large-scale import of soy needed to get the project going – obviously aided by its proximity to the Coega industrial harbour.
The plant thus indirectly creates a new market for soybeans in South Africa, and could offer small-scale commercial farming opportunities to subsistence farmers in the region. According to Geoff Mordt, managing director of RNRF, producers, agricultural corporations and farmers are already being contacted in a bid to up soybean production.
A concern has been raised that the proposed plant will be using large quantities of food crops – four times bigger than its local production. This argument returns to the food vs. fuel debate discussed on greencars.za.net quite recently. A realistic alternative, the non-edible jatropha plant, has already been proven as a successful ingredient for producing biodiesel. Prof Emile van Zyl (University of Stellenbosch) sees soybean as the best option for this operation at present. With the fledgling biodiesel industry only dawning in South Africa, there is little impetus for farmers to suddenly change their crops to jatropha – a substance practically worthless locally if not used for fuel generation.
RNRF has already started negotiating with large transport and mining companies interested in using its produce. The great majority of modern passenger and commercial vehicles are able to run on B5 diesel (i.e. a 5% biodiesel component) while some hardware and software modifications to engines could enable it to run on B20 or B30 versions.
What does the new RNRF biodiesel plant mean for regular people with regular cars filling up at regular Shell or BP pumps? Well, little at the moment. Large energy corporations have not committed to supplying greener fuel in South Africa so far – maybe the government guaranteed market conditions is hampering any need to do so. RNRF has not publicly acknowledged any cooperation for regional or national distribution of its output for consumer use.
However, let us not be negative. More plants are sure to follow, more people are sure to learn, and more opportunities for average South Africans to fill up with greener fuel will develop. For now, let us be happy in that we are seeing the fruits of a long process of government and private sector interaction.
Sources: Rapport Newspaper, Engineering News, National Biofuels Group, RSG Radio
By Christie Viljoen
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There are some other concerns about biofuels apart from the food vs fuel issue. They may not actually be quite so green after all and may, in fact, lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions!
Check out the details here:
http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn13289-biofuels-emissions-may-be-worse-than-petrol.html?feedId=earth_rss20
and here
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0207-biofuels.html