SARNIA, ON, Aug. 31, 2006 (Canada NewsWire via COMTEX) -- New Suncor Facility Means More Jobs, Opportunities For Ontario Families
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty today helped officially open Suncor's new ethanol plant, which will help attract investment, create jobs and lead to a cleaner environment for Ontario families.
"The start of production at this world-class facility marks a major step forward for Ontario's emerging ethanol industry," said Premier McGuinty. "It will attract investment, create jobs and open up new markets for our farmers."
The St. Clair Ethanol Plant is the largest ethanol production facility in Canada with an expected production volume of 200 million litres per year. The plant has 38 full-time employees and is expected to use 20 million bushels of corn per year, creating ongoing opportunities for corn growers.
The plant has been supported by the signing of the Ethanol Manufacturer's Agreement between Ontario and Suncor. Designed to provide a stable environment for investment in ethanol, the agreement will provide the Suncor plant with a projected $36 million over the next three years.
The government is encouraging the construction of more ethanol plants in Ontario by investing up to $520 million in the 12-year Ontario Ethanol Growth Fund. The fund supports ethanol producers and independent retailers selling ethanol blends and promotes research and innovation.
The McGuinty government is also committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by increasing the use of ethanol in gasoline. In November 2004, the government announced a Renewable Fuels Standard, requiring an average of five per cent ethanol in all gasoline sold in Ontario by January 1, 2007.
"The growth of Ontario's ethanol industry is bringing exciting new opportunities to our rural communities," said Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. "Our ethanol plan is part of our strategy to help farmers innovate, pursue new markets and stabilize their incomes so they can prosper."
"Suncor's new ethanol plant here in Sarnia is great news for families in this community," said Caroline Di Cocco, MPP for Sarnia-Lambton. "It will strengthen the local economy and bring unprecedented investment to the area."
Investing in alternative fuels is just one way the McGuinty government is working on the side of businesses and families to strengthen Ontario's economy.
Other initiatives include:
<<
- Encouraging strong job creation, with more than 283,000 net new jobs
since taking office
- Helping to generate almost $7 billion in automotive investments that
retain and create thousands of high-value jobs
- Launching a $500-million Advanced Manufacturing Investment Strategy
to help manufacturers develop cutting-edge technologies.
>>
"By supporting the production of ethanol in Ontario, we're helping to make Ontario a world leader in the bio-fuels industry," said Premier McGuinty. "We're going to continue working with our industry partners to ensure Ontario remains the best place to invest in the years to come."
Disponible en francais
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www.ontario.ca/premier
www.strongontario.ca
>>
SOURCE: Office of the Premier of Ontario
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Global Realty Development Corp. To Acquire Unique Biofuels Company U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp.
CORAL SPRINGS, Fla., Aug 30, 2006 (PRIMEZONE via COMTEX) -- Global Realty Development Corp. (OTCBB:GRLY) today announced that it has executed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire United States Sustainable Energy Corp. of Mississippi, "USSEC" subject to due diligence and certain events.
U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp. of Mississippi ("USSEC" or "the Company") comprises a family of patent and patent-pending technologies that focus on the development of Green alternative Biofuels energy from sustainable biomass sources, such as soybean and corn, and the conversion of waste into alternative energy or other usable products.
USSEC has signed an MOU with Cofitral Holding S.p.A. proposing a joint venture to license the technology for the European Union paying a license fee to USSEC for $1,000,000 in 30 days. Cofitral designs, implements and manages business in the environment, agriculture, energy, transportation and logistics sectors. The Joint Venture will be owned 85% by USSEC and 15% by Cofitral. John Rivera, Chairman of USSEC stated, "The Company's process yields in excess of five gallons of Biofuels from 60 pounds of beans or one bushel of raw soybean. It takes 8.5 minutes from bean to fuel. The yield of 5 gallons of Biofuels per bushel is approximately more than twice as great as the yield of Biodiesel from the same input. Variations of the Biofuels have been used to operate all engines including diesel generators, automobiles, trucks, railroads and jet airplanes. The Company can use many different biomass materials including corn, rapeseed, jatropha, palm oil, etc. to produce its Biofuels."
ABOUT USSEC
USSEC is an international producer of American Biofuels solutions through its proprietary and patent pending processes, Biofuels products and molecular structure of the Biofuels. From its testing plant in Mississippi, USSEC has produced various Biofuels which have been used to operate all engines including diesel generators, automobiles, trucks, railroads and jet airplanes. The Company can use many different biomass materials including corn, rapeseed, jatropha, palm oil, etc., to produce its Biofuels. USSEC can also utilize its Biofuels to co-generate electricity. USSEC is dedicated to building Biofuels facilities to produce Green Power. If USSEC produces Green Power in any state in the United States that have a Green Power program or any country signed as a member of the Kyoto Convention then USSEC will generate Green certificates known as "Green Tags". Green tags, also known as Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), are a market mechanism that represent the environmental benefits associated generating electricity from renewable energy sources. Rather than functioning as a tax on pollution-causing electricity generators, as traditional carbon emissions trading programs do, green tags function as a non-governmental subsidy on pollution-free electricity generators.
In states which have a green tag program, a green energy provider, such as USSEC, is credited with one green tag for every 1000kWh of electricity it produces. A certifying agency gives each green tag a unique identification number to make sure it doesn't get double-counted. The green energy is then fed into the electrical grid (by mandate), and the accompanying green tag can then be sold on the open market.
U.S. Sustainable Energy Corp. of Mississippi ("USSEC" or "the Company") comprises a family of patent and patent-pending technologies that focus on the development of Green alternative Biofuels energy from sustainable biomass sources, such as soybean and corn, and the conversion of waste into alternative energy or other usable products.
USSEC has signed an MOU with Cofitral Holding S.p.A. proposing a joint venture to license the technology for the European Union paying a license fee to USSEC for $1,000,000 in 30 days. Cofitral designs, implements and manages business in the environment, agriculture, energy, transportation and logistics sectors. The Joint Venture will be owned 85% by USSEC and 15% by Cofitral. John Rivera, Chairman of USSEC stated, "The Company's process yields in excess of five gallons of Biofuels from 60 pounds of beans or one bushel of raw soybean. It takes 8.5 minutes from bean to fuel. The yield of 5 gallons of Biofuels per bushel is approximately more than twice as great as the yield of Biodiesel from the same input. Variations of the Biofuels have been used to operate all engines including diesel generators, automobiles, trucks, railroads and jet airplanes. The Company can use many different biomass materials including corn, rapeseed, jatropha, palm oil, etc. to produce its Biofuels."
ABOUT USSEC
USSEC is an international producer of American Biofuels solutions through its proprietary and patent pending processes, Biofuels products and molecular structure of the Biofuels. From its testing plant in Mississippi, USSEC has produced various Biofuels which have been used to operate all engines including diesel generators, automobiles, trucks, railroads and jet airplanes. The Company can use many different biomass materials including corn, rapeseed, jatropha, palm oil, etc., to produce its Biofuels. USSEC can also utilize its Biofuels to co-generate electricity. USSEC is dedicated to building Biofuels facilities to produce Green Power. If USSEC produces Green Power in any state in the United States that have a Green Power program or any country signed as a member of the Kyoto Convention then USSEC will generate Green certificates known as "Green Tags". Green tags, also known as Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) or Tradable Renewable Certificates (TRCs), are a market mechanism that represent the environmental benefits associated generating electricity from renewable energy sources. Rather than functioning as a tax on pollution-causing electricity generators, as traditional carbon emissions trading programs do, green tags function as a non-governmental subsidy on pollution-free electricity generators.
In states which have a green tag program, a green energy provider, such as USSEC, is credited with one green tag for every 1000kWh of electricity it produces. A certifying agency gives each green tag a unique identification number to make sure it doesn't get double-counted. The green energy is then fed into the electrical grid (by mandate), and the accompanying green tag can then be sold on the open market.
Texas getting another ethanol plant
DALLAS, Aug 29, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Panda Ethanol Inc. will build a 100-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant in Sherman County, Texas.
The facility will annually refine about 40 million bushels of corn and milo and generate the steam used in the process by gasifying more than 1 billion pounds of cattle manure a year, PEI said Tuesday.
The Sherman facility is the fourth 100-million-gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the third to be powered by cattle manure.
Panda's Sherman refinery will be located on a 1,200-acre site 3 miles northwest of Stratford, Texas. Construction will take about 18 months.
The facility will annually refine about 40 million bushels of corn and milo and generate the steam used in the process by gasifying more than 1 billion pounds of cattle manure a year, PEI said Tuesday.
The Sherman facility is the fourth 100-million-gallon ethanol project announced by Panda, and the third to be powered by cattle manure.
Panda's Sherman refinery will be located on a 1,200-acre site 3 miles northwest of Stratford, Texas. Construction will take about 18 months.
RUSSIA HARVESTED LESS CORN THAN LAST YEAR
ST.PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, Aug 28, 2006 (A&G News via COMTEX) -- By the beginning of August Russia harvested 18,3 million tones of corn, that is by 2,4 million tones less than in the same period of the last year. As far as Rosstat informed on Monday, the part of wheat was 14,2 million tones of all the volume of the corn gathered. According to the data of the Minister of Agriculture, the gross corn harvest this year will come to 70-73 million tones. The MEDT forecasts the harvest at the volume of 75 million tones. Last year Russia gathered 78,2 million tones of corn.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Vietnam Coffee-Heat and looting threaten crop quality
By Ho Binh Minh
HANOI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The threat of looting posed by high coffee prices and sunny September weather may lead to poorer bean quality as Vietnamese coffee farmers start harvesting early to protect the crop and cash in, traders said on Tuesday.
They said the looters will be active in the key coffee-growing Central Highlands as long as prices in the world's top producer of robusta stay around 20,000 dong ($1.25) per kilogram, near a five-year high.
A kilogram of robusta beans eased to 20,600 dong ($1.29) on Tuesday from 21,500 dong on Aug. 23, which is the highest since global coffee prices crashed in 2001.
"Prices are so good now and if they remain above 20,000 dong, looting is inevitable," said a Ho Chi Minh City trader.
Another trader said it was common when prices were high for hired labourers to loot the same farm they worked for at night.
"The weather has been very good now and if sunny days come in September, the harvest could start early because some cherries are ripe," he said while en route to survey the crop.
Cherries ripened early as rains falling during the previous October-January harvest resulted in an early blossom.
The mid-October start of Vietnam's harvest follows the arrival of the -dry season. Growers said rainfall was good after a drought ended early last year.
But an early harvest that takes place while coffee cherries are green, coupled with hasty picking to avoid looting, will make it difficult to process coffee and raise the ratio of black beans. Unripened cherries tend to be disqualified during processing because the high moisture content in the cherries spoil the beans in them.
Black beans are regarded as defective and may affect the selling price.
LOSSES
Deputy Agriculture Minister Diep Kinh Tan told a coffee quality seminar last Thursday that harvesting unripened cherries could mean losses of 100,000 tonnes each crop.
Vietnamese industry officials said farmers were aware of the quality problem, but they often chose to harvest early rather than leave them unprotected on the farm.
About 80 percent of Vietnam's coffee is grown by 600,000 farmer families, making it difficult for the state to control crop production and ensure stable quality.
"It is the farmers' call and no power can interfere," the first trader told Reuters.
Vietnamese robusta, which is used to make instant coffee and which is priced lower than aromatic arabica, is sold at discounts to London futures contracts partly because of its lower quality.
On Tuesday, Vietnamese exporters, aware of a possible dearth of good quality beans in November due to numerous committed shipments, have reduced making offers. The London market's closure for a public holiday on Monday also contributed to Vietnam's slow trade.
But traders said robusta grade 2, 5 percent black and broken was recently quoted at $70 to $90 a tonne to the LIFFE November contract, or $1,400 free on board at Saigon Port . The quotation is on par with the export price on April 2, 1999.
Prices in Vietnam then fell gradually to $290 in early October 2001, when world prices plunged to 30-year lows.
The government has estimated coffee exports will rise 9.7 percent to 835,000 tonnes, or 13.9 million 60-kg bags, between October 2005 and August 2006, over the same period in the previous crop year.
($1=15,976 dong)
HANOI, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The threat of looting posed by high coffee prices and sunny September weather may lead to poorer bean quality as Vietnamese coffee farmers start harvesting early to protect the crop and cash in, traders said on Tuesday.
They said the looters will be active in the key coffee-growing Central Highlands as long as prices in the world's top producer of robusta stay around 20,000 dong ($1.25) per kilogram, near a five-year high.
A kilogram of robusta beans eased to 20,600 dong ($1.29) on Tuesday from 21,500 dong on Aug. 23, which is the highest since global coffee prices crashed in 2001.
"Prices are so good now and if they remain above 20,000 dong, looting is inevitable," said a Ho Chi Minh City trader.
Another trader said it was common when prices were high for hired labourers to loot the same farm they worked for at night.
"The weather has been very good now and if sunny days come in September, the harvest could start early because some cherries are ripe," he said while en route to survey the crop.
Cherries ripened early as rains falling during the previous October-January harvest resulted in an early blossom.
The mid-October start of Vietnam's harvest follows the arrival of the -dry season. Growers said rainfall was good after a drought ended early last year.
But an early harvest that takes place while coffee cherries are green, coupled with hasty picking to avoid looting, will make it difficult to process coffee and raise the ratio of black beans. Unripened cherries tend to be disqualified during processing because the high moisture content in the cherries spoil the beans in them.
Black beans are regarded as defective and may affect the selling price.
LOSSES
Deputy Agriculture Minister Diep Kinh Tan told a coffee quality seminar last Thursday that harvesting unripened cherries could mean losses of 100,000 tonnes each crop.
Vietnamese industry officials said farmers were aware of the quality problem, but they often chose to harvest early rather than leave them unprotected on the farm.
About 80 percent of Vietnam's coffee is grown by 600,000 farmer families, making it difficult for the state to control crop production and ensure stable quality.
"It is the farmers' call and no power can interfere," the first trader told Reuters.
Vietnamese robusta, which is used to make instant coffee and which is priced lower than aromatic arabica, is sold at discounts to London futures contracts partly because of its lower quality.
On Tuesday, Vietnamese exporters, aware of a possible dearth of good quality beans in November due to numerous committed shipments, have reduced making offers. The London market's closure for a public holiday on Monday also contributed to Vietnam's slow trade.
But traders said robusta grade 2, 5 percent black and broken was recently quoted at $70 to $90 a tonne to the LIFFE November contract
Prices in Vietnam then fell gradually to $290 in early October 2001, when world prices plunged to 30-year lows.
The government has estimated coffee exports will rise 9.7 percent to 835,000 tonnes, or 13.9 million 60-kg bags, between October 2005 and August 2006, over the same period in the previous crop year.
($1=15,976 dong)
Brazil Coffee - Growers meet in bullish mood
By Peter Blackburn
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Brazilian coffee producers, with more than 85 percent of an excellent crop harvested, were gathering in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday feeling bullish about the market outlook.
Nestor Osorio, executive director of the International Coffee Organization, will open the three-day meeting in the capital of Brazil's biggest coffee producing state against a backdrop of tight stocks and much smaller crop next year.
"We want to discuss the sector's future and to improve coffee policy planning," said Mauricio Miarelli, president of the producers National Coffee Council (CNC).
An exceptionally dry Brazilian winter fanned speculation that coffee trees, tired after a large harvest, would produce a poor flowering in September for next year's crop.
However, traders said that lack of autumnal rain in March and April and higher than normal winter temperatures were mainly responsible for stressing coffee trees.
Last Friday, the government as expected slightly revised up its estimate of the current harvest to 41.57 million 60-kg tags, a 26 percent increase on last year.
Light rain last weekend in coffee areas of Minas Gerais and other parts of the southeastern coffee belt dampened speculation about a poor September flowering and triggered a decline in New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) futures.
As a result, domestic physical trading was subdued.
"Producers are only selling enough coffee to settle their bills," said Santos-based broker Eduardo Carvalhaes.
HIGHER AUG SHIPMENTS
But despite a shortage of containers and disputes over shipping and handling charges, export registrations between Aug. 1 and 28 totaled 2.32 million bags, 41 percent higher than 1.65 million bags at the same time last month and up 13 percent from 2.06 million bags in August 2005.
Swedish quality arabicas for Sept/Dec shipment were unchanged at -20/-18 cents a 1b under New York futures.
"Even when it's quiet a lot of business gets done," Carvalhaes said.
A Rio de Janeiro based broker added, "It's stalemate. Producers are confident that prices will rise while buyers refuse to pay up because they believe there's a lot of selling to come."
Despite the harvest, good quality, hard cup arabicas were quoted at 245/250 reais per 60-kg bag, up 5 reais from last week.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Brazilian coffee producers, with more than 85 percent of an excellent crop harvested, were gathering in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday feeling bullish about the market outlook.
Nestor Osorio, executive director of the International Coffee Organization, will open the three-day meeting in the capital of Brazil's biggest coffee producing state against a backdrop of tight stocks and much smaller crop next year.
"We want to discuss the sector's future and to improve coffee policy planning," said Mauricio Miarelli, president of the producers National Coffee Council (CNC).
An exceptionally dry Brazilian winter fanned speculation that coffee trees, tired after a large harvest, would produce a poor flowering in September for next year's crop.
However, traders said that lack of autumnal rain in March and April and higher than normal winter temperatures were mainly responsible for stressing coffee trees.
Last Friday, the government as expected slightly revised up its estimate of the current harvest to 41.57 million 60-kg tags, a 26 percent increase on last year.
Light rain last weekend in coffee areas of Minas Gerais and other parts of the southeastern coffee belt dampened speculation about a poor September flowering and triggered a decline in New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) futures.
As a result, domestic physical trading was subdued.
"Producers are only selling enough coffee to settle their bills," said Santos-based broker Eduardo Carvalhaes.
HIGHER AUG SHIPMENTS
But despite a shortage of containers and disputes over shipping and handling charges, export registrations between Aug. 1 and 28 totaled 2.32 million bags, 41 percent higher than 1.65 million bags at the same time last month and up 13 percent from 2.06 million bags in August 2005.
Swedish quality arabicas for Sept/Dec shipment were unchanged at -20/-18 cents a 1b under New York futures.
"Even when it's quiet a lot of business gets done," Carvalhaes said.
A Rio de Janeiro based broker added, "It's stalemate. Producers are confident that prices will rise while buyers refuse to pay up because they believe there's a lot of selling to come."
Despite the harvest, good quality, hard cup arabicas were quoted at 245/250 reais per 60-kg bag, up 5 reais from last week.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Brazil govt revises up 2006/07 coffee crop 2.5 pet
By Andrea Welsh
BRASILIA, Brazil, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Brazil's 2006/07 (July/June) coffee crop is seen 2.5 percent higher at 41.57 million 60-kg bags, compared with 40.62 million bags estimated in April, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.
The world's biggest coffee grower and exporter will produce 26 percent more coffee than the 32.94 million bags in 2005/06.
In its third 2006/07 crop estimate, the government put arabica bean output at 32.06 million bags, up from 31.02 million bags seen in April, whilst robusta output was estimated at 9.51 million bags, against 9.60 million bags previously.
Brazil produced 23.82 million bags of arabicas and 9.13 million bags of robustas in 2005/06. "There's not much change in the general scenario (from the previous estimate)," Vilmondes Olegario da Silva, the ministry's director of coffee, told a news briefing.
Higher prices encouraged increased crop care, such as more fertilizer, pesticide and pruning, which resulted in a slight upwards revision of the crop. An upturn this year in arabica's biennial production cycle also boosted this year's crop.
Average yield was estimated at 19.43 bags per hectare, up 31 percent from last year, but the total productive area was 3.5 percent smaller at 2.14 million hectares, versus 2.22 million hectares in 2005/06.
Yields were excellent at 23 bags per hectare in south Minas and " the center-west of Minas Gerais state, which produce about 55 percent of the coffee in Brazil's No. 1 coffee state.
But yields were disappointing in forested coffee areas and in the robusta producing state of Rondonia.
An estimated 86 percent of Brazil's coffee crop will have been harvested by the end of August, Vilmondes said.
Looking ahead to next year's crop, he said that the winter had been extremely dry and trees were stressed.
"There's no reason to be alarmist, but we have already exceeded the level at which trees are vulnerable to drought," Vilmondes said.
He noted that the moisture deficit was now 220 millimeters (8.7 inches) and that trees are vulnerable at 150 mm.
"It's difficult to forecast...if it rains there could be recovery," he said.
Vilmondes forecast that Brazil would export 26 million bags of green and soluble coffee in 2006, after shipping 13.7 million bags between January and July.
He said stocks had declined since the end of March, when 9.7 million bags of coffee were stored privately and 2.6 million bags were held by the government's National Coffee Development Fund (Funcafe).
Traders and analysts expected a slight upward revision in the crop due to excellent harvesting conditions during an extremely dry Brazili an winter.
In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) put the Brazilian crop at 44.8 million bags -- the top end of trade guesstimates ranging from 42 million to 45 million bags.
BRASILIA, Brazil, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Brazil's 2006/07 (July/June) coffee crop is seen 2.5 percent higher at 41.57 million 60-kg bags, compared with 40.62 million bags estimated in April, the agriculture ministry said on Friday.
The world's biggest coffee grower and exporter will produce 26 percent more coffee than the 32.94 million bags in 2005/06.
In its third 2006/07 crop estimate, the government put arabica bean output at 32.06 million bags, up from 31.02 million bags seen in April, whilst robusta output was estimated at 9.51 million bags, against 9.60 million bags previously.
Brazil produced 23.82 million bags of arabicas and 9.13 million bags of robustas in 2005/06. "There's not much change in the general scenario (from the previous estimate)," Vilmondes Olegario da Silva, the ministry's director of coffee, told a news briefing.
Higher prices encouraged increased crop care, such as more fertilizer, pesticide and pruning, which resulted in a slight upwards revision of the crop. An upturn this year in arabica's biennial production cycle also boosted this year's crop.
Average yield was estimated at 19.43 bags per hectare, up 31 percent from last year, but the total productive area was 3.5 percent smaller at 2.14 million hectares, versus 2.22 million hectares in 2005/06.
Yields were excellent at 23 bags per hectare in south Minas and " the center-west of Minas Gerais state, which produce about 55 percent of the coffee in Brazil's No. 1 coffee state.
But yields were disappointing in forested coffee areas and in the robusta producing state of Rondonia.
An estimated 86 percent of Brazil's coffee crop will have been harvested by the end of August, Vilmondes said.
Looking ahead to next year's crop, he said that the winter had been extremely dry and trees were stressed.
"There's no reason to be alarmist, but we have already exceeded the level at which trees are vulnerable to drought," Vilmondes said.
He noted that the moisture deficit was now 220 millimeters (8.7 inches) and that trees are vulnerable at 150 mm.
"It's difficult to forecast...if it rains there could be recovery," he said.
Vilmondes forecast that Brazil would export 26 million bags of green and soluble coffee in 2006, after shipping 13.7 million bags between January and July.
He said stocks had declined since the end of March, when 9.7 million bags of coffee were stored privately and 2.6 million bags were held by the government's National Coffee Development Fund (Funcafe).
Traders and analysts expected a slight upward revision in the crop due to excellent harvesting conditions during an extremely dry Brazili an winter.
In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) put the Brazilian crop at 44.8 million bags -- the top end of trade guesstimates ranging from 42 million to 45 million bags.
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