A brief description of ASFC's recent work follows:

• Review of the ‘Farming for Energy Project (Bio-Energy Study)’ for the Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise (SWADE), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy’s biofuels implementing agency.
• ‘Facilitating access to finance for small scale biodiesel producers in Southern Africa’. The main components of this project are: to develop a generic business plan, produce a guidebook for raising institutional finance, implement a web-based information portal and train business planning support amongst NGOs working in the energy sector. The project is funded by the Irish Government via REEEP with Zambia, Lesotho and Tanzania as the focus.
• ‘The Status of Biodiesel in South Africa’ filled a significant information gap and has been disseminated widely within South Africa and internationally.
• ‘Investigation of Ethanol Production for Use as a Household Energy Source’ for the Department of Science and Technology, Government of South Africa.
• Review of ‘The National Rural Biogas Programme: An Analysis and Review’ for the Department of Science and Technology, Government of South Africa.
• Project to ‘Promote the Use of Biodiesel by the City of Cape Town’ funded by WISIONS (SEPS). This work involves facilitating a pilot biodiesel production facility using used vegetable oil as feedstock, quality control assurance, building confidence in the end-user and promoting the environmental and developmental benefits of the fuel to local government.
• Development of a case study ‘Introducing Biodiesel to the City of Cape Town’ for the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) for publication on their website.

PRESENTATIONS AND CONFERENCES

• Presentation: ‘National Biofuels Regulations and Policy’ at REEEP/UNIDO Workshop, Johannesburg, South Africa, August 2006.