New Laws will Double the Biofuel Output in Britain

Diesel engines are much more prevalent in Europe than in the United States, however that love affair has softened in recent years. In the wake of the VW “Dieselgate” as well as increased environmental pressure from regulators, diesel has had a bit of an image problem.

Great Britain is moving forward from its reliance on diesel with a new biofuels program. The British Biofuel sector hopes to double the use of renewable fuels in the over-the-road trucking industry within the next 15 years and significantly reduce the amount of diesel fuel imported into the country.

The new program was launched on April 15th and is aimed at transportation fuel suppliers who currently sell at least 450,000 liters or more of fuel per year. The new laws are pushing these suppliers to maintain at least a 12.4% inventory of biofuel by 2032. Currently only 4.75% of Britain’s fuel supply is composed of biofuels. The change won’t happen overnight. The tiered program will force manufactures to firstly increase biofuel production to 9.75% by 2020 before the 12.4% mandate by 2032.

The new laws are called the Renewables Transport Fuel Obligation (RFTO) and will impact refineries and depots that supply fuel to industrial equipment, fleets, transport companies and aviation industries.

The new laws will also reward companies that choose to produce more biofuels with tax incentives. Overall, the British government is hoping the new laws will significantly reduce the current carbon footprint by more than doubling the current production of renewable resources. The result will be equal to taking nearly a million cars off the road. Consequently, the United States shot down similar mandates to the oil refinery industry regarding Biofuels.