Ajay Modi / New Delhi July 30, 2008, 0:03 IST

The introduction of 10 per cent mandatory blending of ethanol with petrol is unlikely to happen from this October, as decided by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in October 2007.

The government has not notified the decision and the oil marketing companies are yet to float tenders for procuring the additional quantities of ethanol.

The ethanol industry, until recently a golden child that got favorable treatment from Washington, is facing a critical decision on its future.

Kevin Moloney for The New York Times
A mixture of yeast, enzymes and urea is poured into a batch of milo grain for fermenting into ethanol at the Reeve plant.
Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive regulations requiring the oil industry to blend ever-increasing amounts of ethanol into gasoline. A decision is expected in the next few weeks.

Makarand Gadgil / Mumbai July 22, 2008, 3:32 IST

There is a big buzz around ethanol blending with petrol as it is seen as providing relief for the consumers of this scarce commodity when international prices have seen unprecedented spike in the last few months.

But ethanol manufacturers are an unhappy lot as petroleum firms in the country are delaying commitment for ethanol purchase. They have now up the ante by seeking to open petrol pumps for ethanol-mixed petrol and direct sales to bulk consumers.

Sugar Cane Grower's Association (SCGA) has submitted a plan to the Government of Punjab for the setting up a 1000-1200 tons crushing per day (TCD) ethanol plant from sugarcane juice at Mamoo Kanjan, in district Faisalabad. The cost of setting up the plant would be around $10 million, which would produce around 2.0 mw electricity because of high pressure steam technology.

Terry Macalister

Last month, OPEC warned western countries that their efforts to develop bio-fuels to combat climate change risked driving the price of oil through the roof.
The global bio-fuels sector has launched a ferocious attack on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil cartel by accusing it of deliberately "misleading' the public about who is responsible for soaring fuel prices.

NEW DELHI: The Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has hoped that the ongoing G8 Summit in Japan would address the issue of biofuel policies, including subsidy that was contributing to the rising food prices, which could push an additional 100 million people into poverty.

Criticism of biofuel erupted when in certain countries in the western hemisphere a staple food crop like maze-and also soybean, sugarcane and various oilseed crops--began to be used for extensive ethanol production- Atul Cowshish

The United States may drop a tariff on Brazilian ethanol. But the industry is still the victim of much misplaced criticism