Peru’s Fledgling Ethanol Industry Eyes Growth

Energy companies, gobbling up land and pouring money into projects along Peru’s northern coast, are betting they can leverage the country’s impending access to US markets to make it an important producer of sugar cane-based ethanol.

So far, eight companies have invested some $480 million to develop the popular alternative fuel in Peru. Most intend to export it to the United States, the world’s largest ethanol consumer, which will give Peruvian ethanol imports free entry starting next year, a trade benefit over Brazilian fuel.
“There are a lot of reasons why an ethanol project in Peru makes sense,” said Rex Canon, head of Maple Energy, a US-based group with a $220 million facility in Peru. “It’s arguably the best place in the world to grow sugar cane.”

Peruvian-grown sugar has one of the highest yields in the world, nearly double the global rate. Canon said Maple’s Peru yields top 150 tonnes per hectare, versus the global average of around 85 tonnes per hectare.

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