Malawi plans for green vehicles
In the face of an energy crisis and soaring crude oil prices the Malawi government has launched a project to ensure that all vehicles in the country switch to ethanol in a few years.
The five-year project, worth us $1 million, will promote the production of ethanol from sugar molasses. It will also encour age researches to convert conventional vehicles into dual-fuel vehicles or flexible-fuel vehicles that can run on a combination of fuels. "The move is in line with procedures to achieve emission reduction targets of the un Framework on Climate Change,' said Kendron Chisale, Malawi's deputy director of science and technology. The department hopes to have flexible-fuel vehicles on the road within a year.
Malawi has been using ethanol-blended fuel (10 per cent ethanol with 90 per cent petrol) since the energy crisis in the early 1970s. A barrel of ethanol is now half the price of a barrel of oil.