Spain’s biofuels body pushes fixed blending law

02 January 2008 17:49  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS news)--Spain’s renewable energy industry has asked Madrid to urgently implement its fixed biofuels blending legislation or risk jeopardising the country’s fast-growing bioenergy industry, the Asociacion de Productores de Energias Renovables (APPA) said on Wednesday.

The appeal comes after Spain's CNE energy watchdog advised the state to modify its bioenergy bill approved last July to introduce a flexible blending - instead of the planned fixed - obligation for biofuel content.

The CNE’s review, which the state is reviewing but does not have to accept, is expected to delay the obligation’s implementation by five months from previous plans to introduce it on 1 January, APPA said in a statement obtained by ICIS news.

Under the initial proposal, the state wants biodiesel and bioethanol blends to account for 1.9% of both diesel and gasoline fuels in 2008, 3.4% in 2009 and 5.83% in 2010.

However, the CNE has advocated for separate, flexible blends that could be gradually increased to 2.5% for bioethanol (from 2% this year) and 3.5% for biodiesel (from 1.9% this year) by 2010.

Spanish biofuels blends are currently estimated at 3% of fuel.

According to observers, the CNE wants to meet refiners’ requests that it increases biodiesel blends to compensate for a diesel deficit in Spain and that the nature of Spain's fuel market needed a more flexible blending framework.

APPA said the CNE’s strategy would affect bioethanol producers which it claims are already struggling against rising US ethanol imports and soaring raw material prices.

“Establishing a bioethanol obligation lower than 5.83% will not only destroy part of the production capacity - with four operating plants - and the committed investments and jobs, but will also affect the viability of future projects necessary to meet Spain’s 5.83% [blending objectives] and the EU’s 10% requirement by 2020,” said APPA biofuels president Roderic Miralles.

The country has 800,000 tonnes/year and 457,000 tonnes/year of installed biodiesel and bioethanol capacity respectively.

This capacity along with future projects mean the sector is likely to require higher blending targets for 2010 and the years leading to 2020, according to Miralles.

Bookmark Simon Robinson's Big Biofuels Blog for some independent thinking on biofuels

By: Ivan Castano Freeman
+44 20 8652 3214

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