Call for more state agencies to take the lead in use of Irish biofuel

STATE agencies such as Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann should take a lead in the use of Irish biofuel, says Tom Bruton, chairman of the Irish Bioenergy Association (IrBEA).

Industry experts called upon the Government to encourage usage of biofuel by state agencies as far back as April at Teagasc’s Bioenergy Conference in Tullamore, Co Offaly. It noted at the time seven biofuel companies had been “mothballed”. No action has yet been taken by the state to support this ailing industry.

Four of those companies are biodiesel producers. Among those forced out of business are Glanbia’s Eilish Oils, Biogreen, Kilkenny Cereals, Michael Bennett, Eco-Ola, Greyhound Recycling and Ecofuels.

Ireland has imposed an obligation on oil companies that the petrol they sell to consumers should contain a 4% blend of biofuel. However, this measure has not worked as 75% of that biofuel mix obligation is made up of imported product, primarily from Brazil.

Tom Bruton said: “The state sector could be taking a lead on this. They should follow the example set by ESB which “has a fleet of biodiesel trucks that it uses to maintain power lines. It is also one of the biggest champions of electric cars in the country. The sector needs some sort of fixed-price mechanism to keep producers in business.

IrBEA is also calling on the Government to consider a carbon tax increase to give biofuels an advantage over fossil fuels. Ireland’s present 4c per litre carbon tax on petrol compares poorly with the tax of around 24cpl being paid by car owners in Sweden.

Mr Bruton accepts the Government cannot risk contravening EU competition laws by trying to enforce any priority for Irish biofuel over imported product in petrol stations. However, it can intervene by introducing a fixed price mechanism. “Biofuel producers have no idea what price they will get for their product,” Bruton said. “If you agree to sell your output now to an oil company, you don’t find what you will get for it until the end of the year because they don’t know until then whether or not they have fulfilled their 4% quota. We would like to see a more secure market.”

The Biofuel Obligation Scheme will see the level of biofuel in the common forecourt petrol blend rise from 4% up to 10%.

That obligation presently amounts to around 270,000 litres of biodiesel per annum. By 2020, that figure could be closer to a billion litres per annum, but IrBEA argues Irish producers will not be around to compete for even their current 25% share unless the Government moves to protect the sector.

The Teagasc Bioenergy Conference in April was attended by Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Shane McEntee, who said a new REFIT scheme would be introduced covering support for renewable energy from biomass and waste, but that this would be aimed at giving renewable electricity generators price certainty.

Attendees said they were disappointed the minister didn’t give a clear commitment to resolving the REFIT impasse and to streamlining the range of departments and agencies with a remit to committing to the sector.