The Leading News & Information Service For The Facilities, Workplace & Built Environment Community

Biofuels - 15 Year Target To Double Their Use

Biofuel Targets
25 April 2018
 

Tough new biofuel targets came into force on April 15 which will double the use of renewable fuels in the UK transport sector within 15 years, according to the government, cutting the sector’s reliance on imported diesel.

Changes to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) will compel owners of transport fuel who supply at least 450,000 litres a year or more, to make sure the mix is at least 12.4% biofuel by 2032.

Currently the industry, which supplies fuel to transport companies such as haulage firms and airlines, is only expected to meet a target of 4.75% biofuel.

The government is also challenging the sector to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 6% by 2020 – which coupled with the RTFO changes will support the UK’s low carbon fuel industry while helping make sure the UK transport sector is one of the most sustainable in the world.

Transport Minister Jesse Norman said: "We are committed to reducing carbon emissions from transport to tackle climate change and to making the sector as sustainable as possible. Increasing our use of renewable fuels is a key part of this.

"The changes we are introducing will double our carbon emissions savings from the RTFO scheme by doubling the use of renewable fuels and reducing reliance on imported fossil diesel.

"This will deliver emissions savings equal to taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road."

 

The key changes to the scheme are:

  • Increasing the biofuels volume target from the current 4.75% to 9.75% in 2020, and 12.4% in 2032.

  • Setting an additional target for advanced waste-based renewable fuels, starting at 0.1% in 2019 and rising to 2.8% in 2032.

  • Setting a sustainable level for crop biofuels, an initial maximum cap of 4% of fuel in 2018, reducing annually from 2021 to reach 3% in 2026 and 2% in 2032.

  • Bringing renewable aviation fuels and renewable fuels of non-biological origin into the scheme.

Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the Renewable Energy Association, said: "We welcome the increased targets for renewable transport fuels and are excited by the new regulations which will encourage the production of novel fuels for hard-to-decarbonise sectors.

"The UK’s renewable fuels have excellent environmental credentials and their manufacture supports almost 1,000 direct jobs, many of which are in the north-east. As transport is now the UK’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and air quality concerns are growing, this makes the transition to a cleaner system an imperative."

 

Waste

The majority of the biofuel used in the UK comes from waste. By introducing new targets, the RTFO promotes the development of cutting edge technologies to turn waste into valuable low carbon fuels.

The changes are in addition to the £22 million of government funding available to industry to develop waste based advanced low carbon fuels in the UK for aviation and freight.

Picture: Tough new biofuel targets are expected to deliver emissions savings equal to taking hundreds of thousands of cars off the road.

Article written by Cathryn Ellis | Published 25 April 2018

Share



Related Articles

Battle Bus - Biofuels Don't Need Infrastructure Change

Buses in the Helsinki region and most of machinery and trucks used by the City of Helsinki are switching to waste and residue based biofuels. Helsinki Region Transport...

 Read Full Article
Electric Dreams Nearer To Reality

Donald Trump's favourite mayor, London's Sadiq Khan, has set out plans for a major expansion of London’s electric vehicle charging...

 Read Full Article
Engie Gets The Green Light On ChargePoint Purchase

Engie has bought the UK electric vehicle public charging network provider ChargePoint Services. The acquisition will establish Engie as a major infrastructure EV company...

 Read Full Article
Electric Vehicles To Make Road Charges Rise

The popularity of electric vehicles could lead to nationwide road tolls for all drivers totalling £700 a year, according to financial experts. A new report by...

 Read Full Article
All Electric Dust Carts Hit The City Of London

Plans for the UK's first fully electric refuse fleet have been revealed as Veolia has signed a new tech-driven City of London waste contract. The City of London...

 Read Full Article
Taxi Tax - Hailing Apps Launch Green Levies

Gett, the black taxi app will offer customers the ability to exclusively order the new TX Electric taxi in London. Meanwhile Uber is to add a 15p a mile levy to fund...

 Read Full Article
Delivering On Off Grid Electric Vehicles

The Smart Electric Urban Logistics project has provided power to over 170 new electric delivery vehicles in the London area. Off Grid Energy has supported UK Power...

 Read Full Article
Electric Vehicles Boosted By Household Waste

LondonEnergy has taken delivery of two new BMW i3 electric cars and powers them from their own waste plant. The company has installed four charging points at their...

 Read Full Article
Air Action Due - Diesel and Petrol Banned?

  The government, in the form of Environment Minister Michael Gove, confirmed on Wednesday 26 that it will end the sale of all new conventional petrol and diesel...

 Read Full Article
Heading Down Electric Avenues

Engie has announced its commitment to begin switching to an electric vehicle (EV) fleet to improve air quality and help meet its decarbonisation targets for 2020 and...

 Read Full Article