Biofuels

Pictures: Save the World. Use fuel ethanol in motor cars.

The term biofuel is applied to a fuel (or fuel additive) produced from vegetable matter and includes biodiesel and bio-ethanol. Our industry prefers to use the term FUEL ETHANOL to distinguish it from other grades such as industrial ethanol and potable alcohol. The benefits of biofuels are that they are renewable, sustainable, clean burning with reduced greenhouse gas emission, create jobs and result in foreign exchange savings.

Government decided in 2007 to introduce biofuels into the South African fuel pool when they published the Biofuel Industrial Strategy. It was recognised even then that the biofuel industry would have to be subsidised and this was motivated by the requirement that agricultural employment should be created. Various other criteria have since been published by the Department of Energy (DoE), i.e., Criteria for granting and issuing of a biofuel manufacturing licence, and Criteria to be met to become eligible for the subsidy.

Mandatory Blending Regulations were published in Government Gazette (GG) 35623 of 23 August 2012. In essence these required the petroleum industry to purchase all of the biofuel produced by licensed biofuel producers, as from a date to be advised, at a Regulated Price. The latter would be published monthly and is based on the Basic Fuel Price and certain other considerations. In Government Notice R 719 (GG 36890) the mandatory blending implementation date was published, i.e., 1 October 2015. Upon publication of this date, a Biofuels Implementation Committee (BIC), chaired by DoE, was formed. EPASA is playing an active role on this BIC on behalf of Associate Members and other aspirant fuel ethanol producers.

The Biofuels Regulatory Framework (BRF) was published in Government Gazette 43003 on 7-February-2020 and will place aspirant fuel ethanol producers in a position to submit their projects to the department of Mineral Resources and Energy for approval.

Further detailed information is available from EPASA’s Secretary
Email: alfstevens@icon.co.za
Cell phone: 082 453 1323

4 April 2014