Guo, Lei; Maes, Frank --- "The current legal framework on biofuels in China" [2016] ELECD 727; in Le Bouthillier, Yves; Cowie, Annette; Martin, Paul; McLeod-Kilmurray, Heather (eds), "The Law and Policy of Biofuels" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2016) 221

Book Title: The Law and Policy of Biofuels

Editor(s): Le Bouthillier, Yves; Cowie, Annette; Martin, Paul; McLeod-Kilmurray, Heather

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781782544548

Section: Chapter 9

Section Title: The current legal framework on biofuels in China

Author(s): Guo, Lei; Maes, Frank

Number of pages: 23

Abstract/Description:

The Chinese bioethanol industry experienced a rapid growth period, initiated by the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2000–05), relying over time on a number of feedstocks rich in sugar and starch (for example corn, wheat, cassava, sweet sorghum and corn cobs). Initially, the bioethanol project aimed to deal with energy security and to reduce the excessive grain stocks. Since 2001, four large licensed plants using rotten corn and wheat to produce bioethanol have been opened in the provinces of Henan, Jilin, Anhui and Heilongjiang, with a total production capacity of 1.02 million tons. The demo zones were later expanded to Liaoning and Guangxi provinces and 30 selected cities in Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu and Hubei provinces and the inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region. According to research by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), E10 (gasoline mixed with 10% ethanol) amounted to 20% of the total petrol consumed in China at the end of 2006. China became the third biggest bioethanol consumer in the world, with a total volume of 15.44 million tons of ethanol gasoline. In 2006, the government started to limit the expansion of first-generation bioethanol and encouraged the development of the 1.5-generation and advanced bioethanol. Two 1.5-generation bioethanol plants, licensed by the central government, are located in Guangxi Province (cassava) and in the Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region (sweet sorghum). The 2016 fuel ethanol production is forecasted at 2.49 million tons, up 2.6% from 2015. The average blending ratio for ethanol gasoline is about 2.1%.