Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'even Worse than Nonrenewable Fuel Source'

Biofuels: 'Irrational' and 'worse than fossil fuels'

The UK's "irrational" usage of biofuels will cost vehicle drivers around ₤ 460 million over the next 12 months, a think tank states.

A report by Chatham House, external states the growing dependence on sustainable liquid fuels will also increase food rates.

The author states that biodiesel made from grease was worse for the environment than nonrenewable fuel sources.

Under EU law, external, biofuels are set to make up 5% of the UK's transportation fuel from today.

Since 2008, the UK has needed fuel providers to add a growing percentage of sustainable materials into the gas and diesel they provide. These biofuels are mainly ethanol distilled from corn and biodiesel made from rapeseed, utilized cooking oil and tallow.

Deep fried fuel

But research performed for Chatham House states that reaching the 5% level indicates that UK drivers will need to pay an extra ₤ 460m a year because of the greater cost of fuel at the pump and from filling up more frequently as biofuels have a lower energy content.

The report say that if the UK is to meet its obligations to EU energy targets the cost to drivers is most likely to increase to ₤ 1.3 bn per year by 2020.

"It is tough to discover any good news," Rob Bailey, senior research study fellow at Chatham House, told BBC News.

"Biofuels increase expenses and they are an extremely pricey method to lower carbon emissions," he stated.

The EU biofuel mandates are also having hugely distorting effects in the marketplace. Because utilized cooking oil is considered among the most sustainable kinds of biodiesel, the cost for it has actually increased quickly. Rob Bailey states that towards the end of 2012 it was more pricey than refined palm oil.

"It produces a financial incentive to purchase refined palm oil, prepare a chip in it to turn it into used cooking oil and then sell it at profit,"

"It is insane but the rewards exist."

There are also stresses that taking EU land out of production to grow rapeseed oil in particular is developing more climate issues than it fixes. The more fuel of this type that is put into vehicles the bigger the deficit created in the edible oils market. This had actually lead to increased imports of palm oil from Indonesia, frequently produced on deforested land.

"Once you take into account these indirect impacts, biofuels made from vegetable oils in fact result worldwide in more emissions than you would get from utilizing diesel in the first place," said Rob Bailey.

"Plus you are asking vehicle drivers to pay more for the fuel - it makes no sense, it is a completely unreasonable technique."

Biofuel benefits

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which represents the industry, external across the EU, stated it was conscious of the issues triggered by the required. But it believes that biofuels have lots of positives.

"Blaming biofuels for all the troubles worldwide is a bit too overstated," stated Isabelle Maurizi, task manager at the EBB.

"It has brought lots of advantages. It has improved the security of our diesel; it has decreased EU dependence on animal feed imports, thanks to the rapeseed we grow for biodiesel."

"If there was no biodiesel farmers would simply make their land idle - no food, no feed!"

As the UK hits the 5% of liquid fuels mark, the government faces some hard choices on how to move forward on this problem as it deals with tripling the expenses for vehicle drivers by 2020.

Insiders recommend its preference would be to attempt and get agreement in Brussels on the effects of indirect expenses which may constrain what counts as biofuel. However getting contract from countries with effective agricultural sectors who benefit from the present arrangement will be hard.

"When you have a lobby that includes the farming sector and the oil sector it is extremely difficult for Governments to make a U-turn," stated Rob Bailey.

County begins recycling chip fat

8 December 2010