Jamaica Biofuels Report - Ministry of Energy

Figure 6: Typical financing structure for a biofuels projectIn addition to the biofuels production facility itself, additional significant investment will berequired:Road improvement and construction will be needed to allow for efficienttransportation of sugarcane to the ethanol plant and ethanol fuel to Petrojamand other blending facilities around the island. In general, the condition ofJamaica’s road infrastructure appears to be in urgent need of repairs andexpansion.A public education campaign is sorely needed to inform Jamaicans about theproperties, proper use, and benefits of biofuels.Sugarcane harvesters will need to be introduced, if cane harvesting will bepartially or fully mechanized to enhance productivity at least on relatively flatland. Each harvester reportedly costs in excess of $250K. Even if largeharvesters are out of the question, the use of other means to accelerateharvesting, such as hand-operated cane mowing machines used in Brazil, shouldbe seriously considered.Tank clean-up at gas stations will be needed, if not already done, to removegasoline deposits and preserve fuel quality, since ethanol has detergentproperties. Moreover, repairs to or replacement of leaky gas station tanks willbe needed to prevent water from entering E10 storage facilities and causingphase separation, which can damage car engines.If and when blends over E10 or B20 are introduced, adjustments to gas stationtanks and pumps will be necessary to enable them to handle such biofuelsblends (replacement of rubber components with neoprene or EPDM).The costs of each of the above can be estimated only when appropriate data are available.37