April 2011
Investment update GREEN BUSINESS
...Boost for the biodiesel sector...Pakistan energy market to receive Brazilian assistance...Masdar residents get first bank... Masdar’s first bank opens its doors
Raptor capture biodiesel deal
Samba support for Pakistan’s energy sector
The National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) has become the first bank to open a branch in the UAE’s eco-showpiece Masdar City, which is under construction in Abu Dhabi. Masdar employees will also have the option to benefit from exclusive offers made by the bank. “Opening a branch in Masdar City is a natural outcome of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi’s vision and principles,” said NBAD Domestic Banking Division senior general manager Saif Al Shehhi. “As NBAD continues on its path toward becoming a sustainable bank, it supports and promotes other national programmes and efforts that advance sustainability; this is why we are here in Masdar City,” explained Al Shehhi. NBAD has previously provided US $600 million financing to a group led by Masdar to build Shams-1, the UAE’s first utility-scale solar power project.
Technology supplier Raptor Technology has signed a US $1.6 million deal with energy firm Eco Ventures Group’s (EVG) to supply machinery for a biodiesel plant. The new plant, which will be built in the southern US state of Florida, will produce 3.6 million gallons a year of biodiesel. The facility will also house a crushing line and extraction process for seeds and other biofuel crops, and will be able to handle a number of different feedstocks. Raptor president Tom Gleason said: “Our contract with Eco Ventures Group is our third largest plant of 2011. “This facility is important to Raptor because we will not only build the plant, but we will operate it for EVG in a profit sharing agreement.” The plant is expected to be operational by the mid-April 2011.
Brazil has declared its intention to invest in Pakistan’s faltering energy sector. During a visit to Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), Brazilian ambassador to Pakistan, Alfredo Laoni, said that Brazil was prepared to aid community traders and industrialists throughout Pakistan’s current energy crisis. The South American country, which has one of world’s fastest growing economies will increase its assistance to Pakistan’s energy sector, chiefly through investments in its biofuel and ethanol sector. Pakistan has been hit by a series of natural disasters in the past few years, which have had a knock-on effect on the country’s energy market. According to the RCCI trade between the two countries is currently relatively low at US $170 million a year.
www.buildgreen.ae
Biodiesel production growth boost
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Global biodiesel production will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 15.5% between 2010 and 2013, according to a recently released research report. The report, by market research company RNCOS, claimed that that an increase in government incentives across the world and the growing number of biodiesel plants in Asia have had a beneficial effect on the sector. Along with the emergence of the biodiesel industry in Asia, the European Union currently accounts for the largest percentage of worldwide biodiesel production. The US has been closing the gap on Europe in terms of production, while Brazil is currently one of the fastest growing biodiesel-producing countries.