Hubei company to build large bioenergy base

Wuhan Kaidi Holding Investment Co. Ltd., a power industry investment-focused company based in Hubei province, China has signed an agreement with Hubei’s Forest Bureau to cooperate on a large-scale bioenergy development project, local media reported on July 16. Kaidi Holding Investment will invest three billion yuan (US$436.6 million) in planting four million mu or 270,000 hectares (ha) of tung oil trees and two million mu or 130,000 ha of Chinese tallow trees over five years. Bioenergy is seen as an increasingly important alternative energy source for China as oil prices skyrocket. However, the industry is still in its infancy, an issue compounded by the need to wait for oil-bearing trees to reach maturity. In 2007, the Ministry of Finance announced a subsidy of 200 yuan (US$29.11) for each mu (667 square meters) of forest turned into a bioenergy project. (July 16/26, 2008)