A modest contribution of biofuels to energy independence
The biofuel energy balance is positive, in other words, biofuels provide more "oil equivalents" than they consume throughout the production chain, from the crop to the processing of the vegetable matter. However, the savings in petroleum (between 1.5 and 2 mtoe (1)) achieved by using the quantities of biofuels projected in the 2010 scenario are modest in relation to the total consumption of petroleum in France (92.8 mtoe in 2004).
A risk of competition with food production…
In the beginning in France, crops devoted to biofuels made it possible to use land laid fallow in 1993 to limit agricultural surpluses. Rapeseed was the preferred crop since it made it possible to cultivate the maximum fallow area for a given government subsidy because of its low yield per hectare. In keeping with the objective set for 2010, the ester derived from rapeseed is still the preferred biofuel (27.5 million hectolitres projected), compared to ethanol derived from wheat or sugar beets (9.3 million hectolitres projected). In addition to the historical role of rapeseed in developing fallow land, this choice can be explained by the type of refining facilities required and by the large number of cars in France using diesel fuel. Rapeseed areas devoted to the production of biofuels should be multiplied by at least six by 2010. The model developed by INRA makes it possible to foresee that there will be competition between food and "energy" crops by 2006 and that this will occur even before all of the fallow areas are requisitioned. Realistically speaking, it is not possible to use all available fallow land to produce energy rapeseed for several reasons: rapeseed must be used in rotation; 30% of fallow land cannot be used because it is either too steep or too far from the farm; 34% of the farmers have no experience with rapeseed.
From a competitive point of view, the production of energy rapeseed could be encouraged by providing EU subsidies of 45 euros per hectare of land converted from food to energy crops (within the limit of 1.5 million hectares for Europe).
… with an impact on farmers' income
It is more advantageous for farmers to use fallow land to grow energy crops (wheat or rapeseed) than to convert land devoted to the production of food crops. In the first case, they increase their income by 200 to 300 euros per hectare and, in the second, only by 45 euros per hectare (EU subsidies for energy crops).
Non-competitive biofuels for an oil price of $65/barrel (2) (projected price for 2010)
It is expensive to produce biofuels: biofuels are only economically viable compared to oil if the price of the latter is very high (at least $70-80/barrel), which is not the case at this time. The price of biofuels is calculated by taking the cost of crops and the cost of harvesting and processing into account, after deduction of revenue from by-products (rapeseed cake, wheat distillers' dried grains). To make them competitive in relation to oil, biofuels are partially exempt from the TIPP (domestic tax on petroleum products). However, this exemption, which was calculated to allow biofuels to be economically viable when the price of oil was $15-20/barrel, is higher than it should be at this time. Farmers will only be able to take advantage of this exemption indirectly if the biofuel demand, in addition to the demand for food products, results in a rise in agricultural prices.
Macroeconomic advantages closely linked to the price of oil
In a global calculation model that takes account of government expenditures (crop subsidies, exemption of the TIPP), the GDP of the biofuel industry and the increase in income for farmers, the cost-benefit trade-off for the sector calculated for 2010, with an oil price estimated at $65/barrel, is close to zero. If we take the monetary value attributed to reductions in C02 emissions (20 euros/tonne of CO2) into consideration, the trade-off becomes slightly positive. Nevertheless, this value that represents the environmental gain of biofuels at this time might be higher if we were able to calculate the actual damage caused by greenhouse gases.
Based on this analysis, first-generation biofuels have provided support to agriculture and to agro-industry since they were first launched in 1993, before being an economically-viable energy alternative for the community at large. For this to be the case, the price of oil would have to remain above $60-65/barrel. Thanks to research initiatives undertaken, second-generation biofuels obtained from crop by-products (wheat straw) or the wood industries (pruning by-products, sawdust), as well as those obtained from crops grown for the purpose (miscanthus, triticale, short rotation coppice) should provide a more economically-viable biomass that can be converted into biofuels within the next 10 to 15 years.
(1) mtoe: million tonnes of oil equivalent
(2) €1.00 = $1.20
|
|
The main biofuels developed in France are:
- rapeseed ester: VOME (vegetable oil methyl ester) obtained from rapeseed oil mixed with a small quantity of methanol. It is added to diesel fuel.
- wheat or sugar beet ethanol. By adding isobutylene in a 50/50 ratio, we obtain ETBE (ethyl tertiary butyl ether), which is added to petrol.
The major biofuel in the world is ethanol, mainly produced in Brazil from sugarcane and in the United States from corn. Palm oil (a crop that is four times more productive per hectare than rapeseed) could rapidly position itself on the biofuel market.
|
| |
|
Search :
