Biofuels output up to standard

Oct 8 2008 By Kelley Smith, Evening Gazette

BIOFUELS bosses on Teesside have welcomed a report claiming the UK’s output is meeting green standards.

But they say subsidies for US imports should be slashed to secure the health of home-grown product, amid claims the green standards of biofuel sold in Britain are being dragged down by less eco-friendly imports.

According to the first quarterly report by the Renewable Fuels Agency (RFA), the amount of UK road biofuel has exceeded the 2.5% targets set by the Government’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation at 2.61%.

Almost all - 97% - of the biofuel from UK feedstocks met environmental sustainability standards, but overall biofuel sold in the UK failed to meet the 30% target at just 20%. Major fuel companies not meeting Government carbon-saving targets are named and shamed in the report.

Alwyn Hughes, CEO of Ensus, welcomed the RFA report: “The more transparency we’ve got the better, hopefully this will give the Government more confidence in the industry.”

Richard Nickels, chief executive of Teesside’s Biofuels Corporation, said US imports had a heavy presence in the UK.

“The US is able to dump such heavily subsidised product on Britain with such ease. It’s brought the European biofuels industry to its knees.

“All our products meet sustainability standards, compared with just 20% overall - further evidence that sub-standard US imports should go.”

The industry on Teesside is eagerly awaiting the outcome of an EU investigation into import subsidies, following complaints lodged by the European Biodiesel Board against US producers. According to the EC, biodiesel imports into Europe soared from 2.1m gallons in 2005 to 300.2m gallons in 2007. The lion’s share, the EC claims, came from the US due to unfair price-setting which has crippled many European producers.

North-east Conservative MEP, Martin Callanan, said: “Peter Mandelson’s recent exit from Brussels must not be used by the Commission as an excuse for yet more delay on this matter.”