We are not crazy: The image above is Greenpeace Argentina's way to protest against the country's efforts to produce soy-based biodiesel. The activist group took a Mercedes ML and a Porsche Cayenne and made them look like bulldozers to illustrate the idea that soy biodiesel destroys native forests and pollutes more than might be expected by most people. The two SUVs featured German flags, because not only these two cars belong to German brands, but because most of Argentina's soy product is exported to the Bundesrepublik.

[Source: Argentinaautoblog (Thanks to Carlos for the tip)]

Despite the celebration these days of the 3rd European Meeting for Sustainable Biofuels, Friends of the Earth has announced that the "sustainability" criteria for biofuels might be wrong. Next week, a symposium will be held in Argentina regarding the expansion of soy crops to produce biofuel.

According to Friends of the Earth, even when no harmful chemicals have been used to produce a certain type of crop, intensive mono-agriculture (growing a single crop) leads to the destruction of forests, savannah and wildlife. Mono-agriculture also makes land prices soar and does not improve production methods. The environmental organisation also stated that most of the crops that are used for biofuels are currently under the control of big corporations that just want to sell more of certain agriculture products, so they keep the demand high. In short, FotE says, sustainable means more than some might admit.

[Source: Friends of the Earth]

According to a recent article by El Enfiteuta, soy biodiesel is alive and well in Argentina thanks to artificial hype derived from treating biodiesel and pure soy oil different fiscally. This conclusion appears in a report by the University of Buenos Aires's CESPA (an academic center focused on studies of the country's economy), which focused on the potentials of biofuels in Argentina.

We have already reported on how several Latin American countries are betting hard on biofuels as means of reducing their oil imports, which would surely help their economies. While we all know the story of ethanol in Brazil, Argentina is focusing on biodiesel because it's one of the world's largest soy producers. Argentina is currently producing about 750,000 m³ of biodiesel per year and is expected to reach 2.25 million m³ in the near future. CESPA's report showed that biodiesel might not be such a good business for Argentina; the profit margin is very low and the internal demand is not strong enough to sustain such high production figures.

Therefore, the article postulates that this industry is created for export. And this is where the taxman plays his role. Export tariffs in Argentina vary widely. In the case of pure soy oil, the tariff is 32 percent, whereas it's only 2.5 percent for biodiesel. The CESPA concludes that soy-based biodiesel would not be such a good business if it weren't for these tax exemptions that artificially alter its final potential.

Related:

• Biodiesel furor in Argentina
• Brazil & Argentina at war over biodiesel exports
• ABG POLL: Biodiesel Feedstock

[Source: CESPA via Agroinformacion]

At Chrysler's 2008 model preview last June, executive vice-president Frank Klegon announced that the company was involved in some biodiesel research that included growing soy for fuel production. They had planted fuel crops at their Chelsea Proving Ground and also on a brown-field site in Detroit. This fall they harvested the soy grown at the Proving Ground, processed it and sent it to the NextDiesel refinery in Adrian, MI for production.

There were a number of reasons for deciding to grow soy at Chelsea. The facility has a lot of open ground among the test tracks and the thought was that planting soy in place of the grass could save on the cost of mowing. The biodiesel produced from the soy could be used to fuel the ground support vehicles at the proving ground. Chrysler provided an audio interview with Ross Good, Chrysler Senior Manager, Energy Policy and and Jason Eisenberg of NextDiesel that you can listen to here.

[Source: Chrysler]