As part of a controlled fleet trial, a number of vans will run on biodiesel B30 across the country as GM and Vauxhall investigate the long-term potential for the fuel in the UK, and look towards a more widespread distribution network for it.

Biodiesel is made from naturally renewable sources such as sunflower and rapeseed oils, where the oil is extracted and transformed into a methyl ester. Biodiesel B30 is a mixture of 30% biodiesel and 70% conventional diesel. Emissions from the fuel are reduced because plants grown for conversion to biodiesel actually absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. Whilst biodiesel can be produced from a variety of sources, quality is critical, and the manufacturer is also calling on the government to look at establishing a quality specification for the fuel.

Vauxhall Managing Director, Bill Parfitt, said: "Fuel efficiency is already one of the top priorities for our commercial_vehicle customers. Payload and duty cycles mean downsizing is generally not an option, so achieving further CO2 reductions becomes a real challenge. The introduction of biodiesel B30-compatible models to our van range is one way GM can help customers reduce their CO2 emissions on a 'source to wheels' basis and is part of General Motors' wider commitment to alternative fuels and advanced propulsion systems - we're very pleased to be the first manufacturer planning to fully trial the fuel in the UK.

"Of course, governments have an important role to play as well, specifically in terms of ensuring the quality and wider availability of the fuel, and providing incentives to encourage customers to buy it."

Amongst the eye catching announcements in the 2007 Budget was the anticipated rise in Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax) for the most polluting vehicles. Smaller changes to support the emerging biofuels industry and to support E85 flex-fuelled vehicles were also announced.

VED will rise to £400 by April 2008, almost doubling the current rate, for new vehicles in top Band G (>225g/km). Band A vehicles will continue to pay no VED, and the rate for Band B cars has been cut to £35. Cars in Band F will pay £10 more this year and £5 for each year after that. Rates for cars in bands C and E will increase by £5 a year for the next three years. In addition the VED rates for petrol and diesel are to be aligned – providing a small additional boost for diesel vehicles.

Following extensive lobbying by Saab, amongst others, the Chancellor has also announced a 2% company car tax discount will become applicable for bioethanol (E85) flex fuel vehicles from 2008.

The duty differential of 20ppl on biofuels will be extended to 2010, with the 40p a litre reduction for biogas extended to 2012 to provide a sound basis for the developing UK biofuels industry. The buy-out price for companies failing to achieve their Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) is retained at 15ppl in 2009/10. The LowCVP was commended for the progress being made on the development of reporting schemes within the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation due for launch in April next year.

In support of technological innovation, Sir Nicholas Stern has been commissioned by the Chancellor to work with Professor Julia King of Aston University to examine the next generation of low and no carbon vehicles likely to be available over the next 25 years.

Other new measures announced in the statement were:
• Fuel duty rates will be increased by 2ppl but have been deferred until October 2007 and will be followed by a 2p rise in 2008 and a 1.8p rise in 2009
• Rebated oils will also see a duty increase from October of 2ppl
• HMRC to relax requirements for small biofuels producers to register and allows returns to be made quarterly
• The duty rate for off-road use of biofuels will be permanently reduced
• CNG duty differential, as dictated by the Alternative Fuels Framework, will be maintained whilst reducing LPG by 1ppl
• Proposal of an EU-US taskforce to allow for knowledge exchange in the area of biofuels
• EU State-aid will again be sought for 100% first year ECAs supporting the most efficient biofuels plants

SMMT blasted the amendments to VED as “gesture politics at its most cynical” and estimated the changes would deliver an extra £44.5m in revenue for the Treasury. 'The Chancellor and the green lobby may have convinced the public that this will affect rich drivers in central London,' said SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan. 'The truth is that many thousands of people across the UK who rely on larger-engined vehicles, like families, farmers and small business people, face another hike in motoring bills in the years to come.'

Transport 2000 said the Chancellor’s fuel duty increases and new top rate of Vehicle Excise Duty are steps in the right direction, but great strides are needed to increase peoples travel choices and tackle climate change. Stephen Joseph, Executive Director of Transport 2000, said: “The Chancellor has taken steps in the direction of tackling climate change, but great strides are needed. The rise in fuel duty is very welcome at a time when in real terms the cost of motoring is falling and the cost of public transport is increasing. However, we want to see the revenues ring fenced for public transport and other measures that will give people real travel choices, in line with the commitment the Chancellor made in the 2000 budget.

The European Commission has announced its proposals for limiting average new car CO2 emissions to 130 grams per km by 2012. 'Complementary measures' - including biofuels, improved tyres and air conditioning systems - will be expected to contribute a further emissions cut of up to 10g/km.

The main measures it is proposing in the revised strategy are:

A legislative framework to reduce CO2 emissions from new cars and vans will be proposed by the Commission by the end of this year or at the latest by mid 2008. This will provide the car industry with sufficient lead time and regulatory certainty.

Average emissions from new cars sold in the EU-27 would be required to reach the 120g CO2/km target by 2012. Improvements in vehicle technology would have to reduce average emissions to no more than 130g/km, while complementary measures would contribute a further emissions cut of up to 10g/km, thus reducing overall emissions to 120g/km. These complementary measures include efficiency improvements for car components with the highest impact on fuel consumption, such as tyres and air conditioning systems, and a gradual reduction in the carbon content of road fuels, notably through greater use of biofuels. Efficiency requirements will be introduced for these car components.

For vans, the fleet average emission targets would be 175g by 2012 and 160g by 2015, compared with 201g in 2002.

Support for research efforts aimed at further reducing emissions from new cars to an average of 95g CO2/km by 2020.

Measures to promote the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles, notably through improved labelling and by encouraging Member States that levy car taxes to base them on cars' CO2 emissions.

To encourage the car industry to compete on the basis of fuel efficiency instead of size and power, the Commission is also inviting manufacturers to sign an EU code of good practice on car marketing and advertising.

Brussels-based environment group T&E said in response to the EC announcement that the Commission "proposed to weaken an eleven-year-old climate target for new cars just five days after the global scientific community warned policymakers to take serious and urgent action on climate change."

SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan commented that the plans cast a cloud on the horizon. He said: "We recognise the importance that cars play in climate change but everybody has a role to play in reducing CO2 emissions. It is important to put this in context and if the Commission is intent on placing the onus onto car manufacturers, then we see serious difficulties ahead."

The European car makers' trade association, ACEA, said: "The proposals are unbalanced and damaging to the European economy in terms of wealth, employment and growth potential."

The Bus Service Operator's Grant (formerly fuel duty rebate) may be abolished this year in a review of the bus regulation framework. The BSOG has been criticised in the past because it takes away financial incentives for bus operators to switch to more fuel efficient, lower carbon vehicles.

Transport Times reports that: "Bus operators’ fuel duty rebate will be abolished in next year’s Government spending review and replaced by a subsidy based on passenger numbers."

The transport trade paper said that: "sources close to the review said that there is a firm intention to scrap the rebate, which refunds up to 80% of the taxes bus operators pay on diesel."

The Transport Secretary, Douglas Alexander, announced a review of the bus regulation framework last December.

According to the same article, the replacement for the BSOG is likely to be along the lines proposed by the Commission for Integrated Transport in a 2002 report which concluded that a passenger-based payment would provide an incentive for operators to attract more passengers, particularly in urban areas, and encourage the introduction of more fuel efficient vehicles.

The regulatory framework for buses was the subject of a recent House of Lords debate. During the debate, Lord Bradwhaw commented: "The question of how the fuel-duty rebate might be replaced has been investigated at least twice—I think it has been investigated more often—on the assumption that the fuel-duty rebate, or the Bus Service Operators’ Grant, is paid for the mileage operated, when we are in fact trying to subsidise people for carrying passengers. All attempts at reform have failed because of the considerable obstacle of very little reliable information about passenger mileage, and because any other way of making the information available would be bureaucratic and expensive to administer."

Another reason for the Government's reluctance to change the BSOG has been the fact that the subsidy pre-dates European State Aid rules. Any new bus subsidy scheme will be constrained by the need to meet current State Aid requirements and, consequently, is likely to be more limited than the old mechanism.

Prince Charles makes switch to Biodiesel (9/12/06)

The Prince's official Jaguar cars are being switched to run on 100% Biodiesel.

Prince Charles has gone into environmental overdrive, pledging to exchange private planes and helicopters for public transport and biodiesel cars. Wood-burning boilers, bicycles for his London staff, more energy efficiency at his country homes - the heir to the throne is determined to reduce his carbon footprint at a time when fighting global warming is high on the political agenda.

"We are consuming the resources of our planet at such a rate that we are, in effect, living off credit and living on borrowed time," the future king has warned. Charles, once mocked for admitting he talked to the plants in his country garden to make them grow, has long been an impassioned environmentalist, promoting organic farming and a sustainable approach to agriculture. Now he has taken up the green crusade on the home front. Wherever possible, he is to cut down on private helicopters and chartered planes and rely more on scheduled flights and trains.

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) applauded New Holland’s decision. “I am elated that New Holland has taken this step to show support for biodiesel, a farmer-grown fuel,” Hegland, an NBB director, said. “Their customers asked for it, and they listened. I truly hope others will follow suit soon.”

Dennis Recker, vice president of New Holland Agricultural Business in North America, voiced his support for the renewable fuel. “Biodiesel is the future,” he said. “As the availability of fossil fuels becomes a greater problem, we need to look at alternatives. But they must also be cleaner, environmentally friendly alternatives. New Holland is renowned for its innovation and forward-thinking approach, and we are committed to bringing our customers the latest technology and the benefits [that come with it].”

The NBB’s close work with New Holland and other OEMs was instrumental to the company’s decision to support B20. During the past several years, the NBB and the diesel engine, fuel injection and vehicle companies have engaged in extensive biodiesel research and testing programs to develop an informed, fact-based position on the use of up to a 20 percent biodiesel blend in diesel applications in the United States. Results can be found at www.biodiesel.org/buyingbiodiesel/guide/B20_Fleet_Recommendations.pdf. The effort was based on actual fleet experience with B20 in the commercial marketplace.

In addition, the NBB and all the major vehicle, engine and fuel injection companies are engaged in a research program for new diesel technology. The program tests B20 and lower blends in the advanced diesel-engine platforms mandated by the U.S. EPA, starting with 2007 model year vehicles.

CHICAGO - Soyoil, traditionally one of the less-traded products on the 158-year-old Chicago Board of Trade, is scaling new heights as investors bet on "green" fuels amid soaring crude oil prices.

While corn and sugar are used to produce the alternative fuel ethanol, about 90 percent of US biodiesel is derived from soyoil, a byproduct of crushing soybeans into animal feed.
Soyoil futures at the Chicago Board of Trade, the world's largest grain exchange, hit a nine-month high of 26.12 cents a lb in late April.

The spike coincided with historic highs above US$75 a barrel for crude oil and forecasts that gasoline prices in the United States could easily surpass US$4 a gallon this summer. CBOT soyoil rallied on Tuesday, as did US energy markets.

For more on this story please click on the following link:
http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/36288/story.htm

Biodiesel is a blend of 95% diesel and 5% bio-matter, which can be derived from soy, palm, rape, jetropha, sunflower and used cooking oil. Stagecoach is sourcing its biodiesel through one of its current fuel suppliers, whose product meets EN590 and EN14214 Quality Assurance standards. Bio-diesel, whose use does not require any engine modifications, is a low carbon fuel. The plants that are grown to produce the seeds that release oils for use in bio-diesel absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. Adrian Havlin, Stagecoach’s Group Technical Engineer, said: “This is another step in our ongoing efforts to reduce the environmental impact of our operations and make them more sustainable.

“Tests have shown that biodiesel can reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency with no additional cost. We now hope to encourage the rest of our fuel suppliers to offer this type of product in the future to allow us to use biodiesel in as many of our UK bus operations as possible.”

The highlights of yesterday’s Budget statement in terms of low carbon vehicles and fuels:

* Vehicle excise duty (VED) changes including the introduction of a new higher band of graduated VED (Band ‘G’) for the most polluting new cars, set at £210 for petrol cars. Reductions for lower carbon cars, including zero-rating for the ‘A’ Band.

(The LowCVP issued a response to the VED changes, drawing attention to the fact that the colour-coded fuel economy label will be revised to reflect the new ‘Band G’ and the changes in tax rates – see link below.)

* Interim targets for the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) have been set at 2.5 per cent in 2008-09 and 3.75 per cent in 2009-10.

* The biofuels duty incentive is maintained at 20 pence per litre in 2008-09. The RTFO buy-out price will be set at 15 pence per litre for 2008-09. The combination of duty incentive and buy-out price is also guaranteed at 35 pence per litre for 2009-10 but will reduce to 30 pence per litre in 2010-1.

* The Goverment has also now applied to the European Commission for State Aids approval for an Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme for the cleanest biofuels production plant.

* Company car tax: The threshold for the minimum charge rate for calculating benefit-in-kind from company cars will be reduced from 140g of CO2 per kilometre to 135g of CO2 per kilometre from 2008-09. The Budget also announced a new lower 10 per cent band from 2008-09 for company cars with CO2 of 120g per kilometre or less.

* Report on the second stage of the company car tax evaluation is published alongside the Budget which says that, as a result of the reforms, CO2 emissions were 0.2 to 0.3 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) lower in 2005 and expected to increase to between 0.35 and 0.65MtC a year by 2010. (Link below)

* Further consideration will be given to modernising the capital allowance regime for business cars, with the publication of a consultation document 'Modernising tax relief for business expenditure on cars'.

* Road fuel duties: An inflation-only increase is deferred to 1 September 2006.

* Road fuel duty rates on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) will increase by the equivalent of 2.25 pence per litre to reduce the differential with the main rates by 1 pence per litre. The Treasury says this “will reflect more accurately the environmental benefits of this fuel.” Duty rates on natural gas will increase by the equivalent of 1.25 pence per litre, maintaining the differential with the main rates.

* A new National Institute of Energy Technologies will be set up, in partnership with the private sector, intended to better leverage the substantial public sector funding of energy research. The Institute will focus particularly on delivering low carbon and supply-secure energy sources.

Links:
The LowCVP issued a response to the Budget statement, drawing attention to the revision of the fuel economy label to reflect VED changes: http://www.lowcvp.org.uk/newsandevents/news.cfm?news_id=380

Greenergy Fuels announced last year that it was working with Cargill on a plant at Immingham which will take 150,000t a year of UK-grown oilseed rape (Farmers Weekly, News, 9 December).

But Tesco, which has a 25% stake in Greenergy Fuels, highlighted on Tuesday (28 February) that it is also part of the partnership.

It also revealed that it was working with Cargill and Greenergy to develop another plant near to Cargill's seed crushing facility in Liverpool.

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Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said France would also be defending the interests of farmers by launching a tender for 1.1 million tonnes of biofuel capacity by the end of the year, comprising 950,000 tonnes biodiesel and 150,000 tonnes ethanol.
This comes on top of a similar tender announced last year.

"We ought to defend and promote all new prospects for agriculture, including biofuels," de Villepin said at the annual Paris farm show. "We will therefore do more in this field."

Soaring oil prices have encouraged major consumers worldwide to sharply increase the use of biofuels, made from sugar cane, vegetable oils or grain and widely seen in the European Union as a way to reduce emissions of gases that heat the earth.

The European Union has encouraged a rise in biofuel production in the bloc, setting ambitious but non-binding targets for incorporating the new fuels into conventional fuels.

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