CEC starts bio-diesel blending
THE Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) has this year projected to produce 600,000 litres of bio-diesel from crude jatropha oil to meet its own fuel requirements.
The company will next month start blending the fuel from jatropha for its own use.
CEC director in charge of strategy and regulation Silvester Hibajene said the company was currently producing 200,000 litres of crude from jatropha purchased through its network.
Mr Hibajene said in an interview in Lusaka that the CEC plant had the capacity to produce one million litres of bio-diesel annually.
“We have the capacity to produce one million litres of bio diesel per year and right now we are producing 200,000 litres and the reason we have not scaled up our production to one million is because we cannot find enough feed stock so we are hoping to engage more farmers and suppliers,” he said.
In January 2010, CEC, Netherlands Development Organisation Zambia (SNV) and Kapiri Mposhi Jatropha Growers Association (KMJGA) signed an agreement for the development of capacities of small-scale farmers and processors of jatropha within the district.
Under the agreement, CEC in 2011 planned to buy a minimum of 200,000 litres of crude Jatropha oil to be supplied by NANOFA Enterprises and Kapiri Bio Products Limited (KBP).
The two enterprises are expected to purchase and process at least 600,000 kilogrammes of good quality seed from small scale farmers, of the crop in Kapiri Mposhi District through KMJGA.
The firm established a plant for processing jatropha oil into bio-diesel, initially to meet part of its own fuel requirements and if market conditions allow, it will expand into a commercial operation.
The partnership came against the background of a realised need for affordable and reliable energy and the potential to develop a vibrant bio fuel industry which would help reduce Zambia’s heavy reliance on imported petroleum products with the benefits of foreign exchange savings.
CEC senior manager for renewable energy Emmanuel Katepa said a well developed bio-fuels industry would help increase incomes of thousands of small-scale farmers through production of bio-fuel crops and that it had the potential to create hundreds of jobs at various segments of the bio-fuels value chain.
“As you know the Government had approved the bio-fuel blending ratio for bio-ethanol of up to 10 per cent with petrol and bio-diesel of up to five per cent of diesel,” he said.
Mr Katepa said due to limited feedstock of Jatropha, the company was having a challenge to meet its capacity of one million litres of bio-diesels.
He said the utilisation of bio-fuels also had the effect of enhancing energy security and wealth creation.
Source: Times of Zambia
