Abstract South America is responsible for 16% of the world's agricultural production and 21% of the world's livestock. Palm harvesting has been gaining special attention, with constant growth in Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador. Fast expansion in palm plantations in the equatorial zone around the world has been motivated by an increase in farming of species such as Elaeis guineensis , Elaeis oleifera , and Elaeis odora . Parallel to the increase of oil‐palm harvesting, the generation of residues is an important aspect to take into consideration. This work presents an overview of palm cultivation in South America, focusing on the full use of the fruits of the palm for biodiesel production. It also discusses the status of the main projects in South America for second‐generation biofuels production from governmental agencies and private institutes. From the data consulted it was determined that Colombia, Ecuador, and Brazil have policies and incentives for the agrobusiness of oil‐palm production. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd