Biofuels Campaign Revs Up Driver Education

Much has been discussed about the supply side of biofuels, but with the introduction of a biofuels mandate on January 2, 2017 there is a real need to educate the public.

That’s why the Queensland Government education campaign, recently launched in Brisbane is a key piece in driving demand for a sustainable fuel.

Many motorists are unclear whether they can use E10 even though it is compatible with the vast majority of vehicles.

It is great to see one of Australian motorsport’s leading touring car drivers, Mark Winterbottom as the face of the new campaign.

As a Supercars champion and Bathurst 1000 winner, Mark is very familiar with the cleaner burning fuel and its widespread use across the motor racing industry.

The introduction of a biofuels mandate by Queensland was a major step forward for the industry and a boost to the agricultural sector and regional jobs.

As Biofuels Minister, Mark Bailey pointed out at the launch, the biofuels industry is high tech and will encourage innovation and investment, protect agriculture and support knowledge-based jobs for the future.

The Government’s 12 months’ campaign will focus on the benefits of switching to the sustainable E10 fuel and make it easy for motorists …

E10 Education Key to Delivering Benefits for Motorists

Many motorists are opting for expensive premium fuels unaware that E10 is compatible with their car, the Biofuels Association of Australia said today.

Chief Executive Officer, Mark Sutton, said E10 delivers many of the benefits of premium fuels without the premium price.

“We accept that there has been a spike in premium fuels, however we believe what is driving that trend is complex,” Mr Sutton said.

“The spike in premium fuel consumption has broadly tracked lower oil and fuel prices.

“E10 delivers a good bang for the buck, but many motorists are not aware that this is a modern fuel which they can use in their car.”

Mr Sutton said there was an urgent need for a major education campaign on the benefits of biofuels.

The Queensland Government has already launched a major education campaign prior to the introduction of a biofuels mandate on January 1, 2017.

“The research that underpinned that campaign shows many people were unaware about the benefits of biofuels,” Mr Sutton said.

“E10 is a higher grade fuel which delivers value for money, reduces carbon emissions and helps lower pollution.

“More than 200,000 motorists in Queensland have already checked online whether their car is compatible with …

Early Positive Signs for Qld Biofuels

There are early signs that the Biofuels mandate in Queensland is driving interest in biofuels.

The industry had been held back by a lack of consumer understanding around the benefits of E10.

With more than 400,000 motorists already checking if their car is compatible with E10 it shows that there is real interest in the product.

While the mandate has only been in operation for three months, there are early signs of an uptick in demand.

Mr Sutton said the Queensland Government’s E10OK advertising campaign had been effective in educating motorists about the benefits.

An analysis by the RACQ indicated that 35.6 million litres of E10 was sold in October ahead of the January mandate.”

Queensland is the centre of the biofuels industry with two ethanol plants and a biodiesel plant located in the State.

The full benefits of biofuels include:

• Improves the air we breathe – e10 reduces hydrocarbon emissions by up to 30% and particulate emissions by up to a massive 50%. It is these emissions that can very detrimentally affect the health of people.
• E10 is better – The addition of 10% ethanol in regular unleaded petrol improves performance in engines as the fuel burns more completely.

GREEN SHOOTS FOR BIOFUELS IN QUEENSLAND

The introduction of a biofuels mandate in Queensland appears to paying dividends – a great boost for an industry buffeted by cost pressures and misinformation.

The Queensland Government is reporting a 30% increase in demand for E10 in the sunshine state.

A lack of understanding on the benefits of E10 has held the industry back, but the Government’s education campaign has been a roaring a success.

More than 500,000 motorists have checked the Queensland Government website to see if their car is compatible – and that’s a game changer for the industry.

The E10 Ok campaign proves that there is a real interest in the biofuel.

If the industry can continue to grow then it will mean more jobs for regional Queensland.

The United Petroleum plant at Dalby is already moving to expand its plant.

The plant will undergo a $26 million expansion, with the help of the Queensland Government bio-futures incentive program.

The plant currently produces 76 million litres per year of ethanol from locally grown sorghum – the expansion will boost production to 100 million litres per year.

The project is expected to generate an extra 50 jobs and that proves that a growing industry can provide valuable …

MANDATE REMAINS KEY TO BIODIESEL INDUSTRY

The Australia biodiesel industry is still trying to negotiate deals with oil companies to ramp up production, despite the introduction of a second State mandate

There are some promising signs in Queensland following the introduction of mandate on January 1, however that is yet to flow through to the industry with supply contracts.

The Ecotech biodiesel plant, which is based just north of Brisbane, is only producing a fraction of its capacity.

The biodiesel sector has been hit by low oil prices and a major spike in feedstock prices which are key ingredients in the production process

This has made it very difficult to operate on a commercial basis.

Another plant at Barnawartha went into receivership 18 months ago and other plants have reduced production.

The cost of raw materials like used cooking oil and tallow jumped sharply 12 months ago with strong demand from Europe and the U.S where biofuels are strongly supported by government policy.

The biofuels mandate, which for diesel started at .05% this year, gave renewed hope to the industry in Queensland.

Biodiesel is blended with mineral diesel at 5% and known in the market as B5.

There have been some teething issues getting the supply …