by Behailu Ayele (AllAfrica/Addis Fortune) … A new bill is in the works to allow the involvement of the private sector in development, production, distribution and the sale of biofuel energy. The law will be the first to be enacted for the biofuel energy industry.
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas is drafting the proclamation, regulation and directives that will fully open the industry to the private sector, which was once exclusively allocated to public investments only.
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The biofuel industry has been regulated by the investment and trade laws of the country until now. The new law, which is in its final stages of review, will replace the current laws, according to Michael Gessese, director of biofuel at the Ministry.
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The main points of the legal framework include establishing authority and managing the industry. It also includes incentives that will be given to private investors who generate energy from by-products of industries and agricultural outputs.
Individual and small-scale investors can engage in biofuel energy generation and distribution by partnering with the largest industries, according to the new law.
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Nile Petroleum, National Oil Corporation, OiLibya and recent entrant Total Ethiopia all blend ethanol into their gasoline.
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To maximise the value of the fuel and minimise the expenditure of forex, the oil companies blend five percent to 10pc ethanol with gasoline, as set by the Ministry. The blending projects enabled the country to save 50 million dollars annually.
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The Ministry is also working on blending ethanol from biofuel at the Fincha and Metahara sugar factories. It has also harvested 20,000ha of land in Tigray, Amhara, Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples, Oromia and Afar regional states. The area supports approximately 24 million jatropha trees, a plant rich in oil and algae, cultivated over the past five years. READ MORE
