Costa Rica Biofuels – ICE vs RECOPE

Costa Rica's Palm Oil Industry can bring in $10,000 a acre.

Last month an interesting ecology deal was proposed. New Generation Biofuels Holdings, Inc.,  signed a letter of intent with the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE or Costa Rica dominant monopoly on utilities, like electrical, internet, and phone service) to start testing  biofuels for power generation in the Central American country. It seems logical, Costa Rica known for being a founding father in ecotourism, conservation, and biodiversity; this just might be another feather in the cap of ecology.

Under the terms of the letter of intent, ICE, will evaluate New Generation’s biofuels, leading ultimately to the potential licensing of New Generation’s technology and to the construction of biofuel production plants in Costa Rica for use in its electric generation plants. Obviously the construction part will help provide jobs in both the building and general labor for daily operation.

New Generation, initially (according to the letter of intent) will first start testing at their production facility located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Costa Rica Jatrophap oil is being harvest for the use in biofuels

Now [supposedly] this will provide Costa Rica with an environmentally sound fuel, based on locally produced feedstock (palm oil, jatropha, or animal fats) which should slowly but surely limit the need to use Costa Rica’s foreign exchange earnings to purchase imported fuel oil.  For those of you that have traveled the road from Jaco to Quepos will see miles and miles of palms that are harvested for the oil. A major industry in Costa Rica that brings in hundreds of thousands.

Now the plot thickens … for the last few years Costa Rica is being wined and dined by China. China has given over $300 million in aid to Costa Rica, as well as other incentives, including 20 scholarships each year for Costa Ricans to study in China. Hummm…

Back in April, we posted China’s  investment with Costa Rica where China’s National Petroleum Corporation proposed to finance and joint venture with Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE) –  a one billion-plus dollar refinery to be built in the town of Moin, on the Caribbean. Now almost immediately, this project came under scrutiny by the Comptroller’s Office, an independent [watchdog] bureau that monitors Costa Rica’s government actions to make sure they are within the law.

The Comptrollers Office claims that the refinery agreement signed in late 2008 with Costa Rican RECOPE violates  RECOPE legal monopoly on oil refining and distribution.

Now this is where it gets VERY interesting ….

The sale of  biofuel with ethanol (a corn product) by the Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE) is illegal, however, nothing was done about it when state refinery admitted to selling 30 million liters of the ethanol added gasoline at gasoline stations around the country and without telling customers.

To put this in a nutshell, we have two major  monopoly companies (ICE’s utility and  RECOPE’s fuel) getting ready to battle  of who will control the biofuel industry?  You can already see this pot boiling.

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