Mexico Plans Ethanol Push to Reduce Pollution, & Decrease Oil Imports.

[JohnWxy]

http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=342366&CategoryId=14091

MEXICO CITY – The Mexican government said it will invite tenders next month for a contract to produce 176 million liters (46 million gallons) of ethanol for use as a transport fuel, part of a plan to curb pollution and diversify the country’s energy mix.

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The plan will help reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere and guarantee the development of Mexico’s food industry, Kessel said during the National Peasant Confederation’s First Economic and Financial Corporate Anniversary.

The project initially will be carried out in the western state of Jalisco, with 65,000 hectares of sugarcane to be used as the source of the biofuel. The goal is to produce 176 million liters of an ethanol-gasoline blend annually.

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“In Mexico, there’s an agricultural zone potentially (particularly?..JW) suited for the production of raw materials for ethanol production, especially sugarcane, sweet sorghum and beets, with no risk to the country’s food security or to jungles, forests and the remaining natural ecosystems,” Carstens said.