Biofuel Does Not Work

Six years after having started the program to incorporate it into the energy matrix, the percentage of ethanol in gasoline has fallen by 4.6% in 2006 to 1.4 in 2011.

Monday, July 9, 2012

One of the main problems faced by the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE) for the successful implementation of the National Biofuels Program, is that they do not have a local supplier of ethanol. The state run company has failed to get the attention of Costa Rican producers of alcohol, who prefer to sell to international markets where higher prices are paid.

According to Edgar Herrera Echandi, executive director of the Agro-Industrial League of Cane (Laica), "It is all about supply and demand in the market, in that if selling to Recope becomes competitive with international price levels, domestic production will be sold to this institution", published Elfinancierocr.com.

Looking for a provider outside the state is currently considering making an international competition.

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More on this topic

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The Chinchilla administration is insisting on building a refinery, this time using the method of an international tender.

The new concept aims to "dilute the Chinese accent from the controversial project ", after the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) slowed down the project upon discovering that there were conflicts of interest in the feasibility report for the refinery.

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Biofuel Plans Redirected

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Given the failure of the initiatives launched in 2008, the Ministry of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica is studying new ways of incorporating biofuels into the energy mix.

One of the main problems for the successful implementation of the National Biofuels Program, was the failure to have sufficient local supply of ethanol. No one was able to attract the attention of Costa Rican producers of alcohol.

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