Why are we lagging? (From Gazette & Herald)

Why are we lagging?

Independent agronomist Jonathan Holmes explains why we should crack on with developing biofuels

THE effects of the second gulf war are starting to take effect, with the supply of fossil-derived fuel oil to the western world being disrupted. Even my young son predicted that effect, and yet what has our Government done to prevent this inevitable shortage?

Fossil fuel diesel is far more damaging to the environment, due to the levels of greenhouse gasses that it produces, than biodiesel. And all modern diesel-powered vehicles can use biodiesel, either straight or as a blend, without any modification. Also, when bioethanol is blended with fossil-derived petrol, it can be used in any normal petrol engine.

So why hasn't the United Kingdom built any production plants to produce biodiesel or ethanol for replacing some of our crude oil requirements? We can easily grow oil seed rape to produce the biodegradable vegetable oil necessary for biodiesel production, and wheat and sugar beet can be converted into ethanol for blending into fossil-derived petrol.

With the UK producing on average 3-4m tonnes of wheat that are surplus to the home feed and milling requirements, and two of the most widely-grown wheat varieties in the UK, Claire and Consort, having the highest starch content of all the winter-sown wheat varieties, there is a ready-made market just waiting to be utilised. Ethanol can simply be extracted from the wheat with existing milling technology, so the UK should really be producing bioethanol.

It is extraordinary - and verging on the criminal - that we are one of the few countries in Europe that are not producing biodiesel or bioethanol.

Brazil has been producing bioethanol since the early 70s, the USA from 1979, France from 1990, Spain from 2000 and Sweden from 2001. The technology is out there, so why is the UK still lagging far behind?

In the USA, approximately 2m cars are running on an 85pc ethanol mixture derived from corn, and 8pc of all the corn grown is used for ethanol. France produces 320,00 tonnes of biodiesel and 220,000 tonnes of bioethanol annually, Spain produces 18,000 tonnes, Italy 150,000 tonnes, Sweden 50,000 tonnes, Germany 670,000 tonnes, Hungary 18,000 tonnes, the Czech republic 160,000 tonnes. The UK? 0 tonnes! (EU statistics of January 2004.) Worryingly reminiscent of our usual performance in the Eurovision Song Contest!

Under the Kyoto protocol agreed by the western powers, a carbon dioxide reduction target of 8pc was set for 2012 for all the EU states. To achieve that reduction, all countries need to increase their use of biofuels in all their various forms.

The UK can grow a readily-sustainable resource that will reduce our reliance on the dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, benefit the environment, and reduce carbon pollution. So with all these obvious advantages, why is our Government not giving this fledgling industry every assistance? The answer is simple, tax! Despite all these benefits from biofuels, the Government is more interested in raising the exorbitant 80pc duty on UK fuel. Perhaps we should all ask our Member of Parliament why they persist in damaging the environment, and unnecessarily emptying our pockets.

Jonathan Holmes, an independent agronomist,

can be contacted via e-mail to: jonathan@jholmes.plus.com

Updated: 11:11 Wednesday, June 23, 2004