Biofuels hope dashed

Plans for a local biofuel industry have suffered a major setback. LanzaFuels New Zealand Ltd. has announced that it has placed its plans for a Waikato-based biofuel plant on hold. Company Spokesman Howard Moore says with Brazilian prices for fuel ethanol at historical lows and the New Zealand dollar trading at historic highs, it is cheaper to import ethanol than to make it locally. LanzaFuels planned to build a large-scale ethanol production plant using locally grown maize powered by wood waste. It proposed targeting land used for beef and sheep farming. (September 3, 2007)