Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic is one of four countries the United States and Brazil selected to technically advise, finance and operate renewable energy projects.

The biofuel cooperation agreement began in March, with cooperation by the Inter-American Development Bank (I.D.B.), the Organization of American States (O.A.S.) and the United Nations Foundation. El Salvador, Haiti and San Kitts & Nevis are the other nations the U.S. and Brazil chose to identify their energy need and cooperate in their plans to produce biofuel.

The U.S. biofuel and alternative energy expert Johanna Mendelson Forman was contracted to interchange information with the local sectors interested in the topic.

A U.S. delegation will also arrive this week to evaluate the country’s potential and provide technical assistance, conduct feasibility studies and advice on the biofuel industry in general.

Doctor Mendelson said Dominican Republic can use its large sugarcane plantations to produce ethanol and plant trees called white piñon, which grow in barren zones of the country’s south and extract its oils to produce biodiesel to substitute diesel. She said Haiti has similar potential with that tree, where it could be massively cultivated.

The U.S. expert said the new Renewable Energies Law gives the country a legal framework to attract investors and get I.D.B. funding for projects to produce biofuel. As to sugarcane projects, the ethanol could be exported and jobs would be created.