![[Valid Atom 1.0]](valid-atom.png "Validate my Atom 1.0 feed")
ALTERNATIVE FUELS
* Europe - US imports slow bio-fuel development
Brusells,Belgium -Road Transport (UK) -14 November 2007: -- The European Bio-diesel Board is threatening formal complaints to the European Commission and the World Trade Organisation, claiming unfair subsidies enjoyed by American bio-diesel producers are strangling the development of Europe-based production... Under the so-called 'splash-and-dash' system, US bio-diesel attracts US$264 per cubic metre in American subsidies when a "drop" of mineral diesel is added. These 'blends' are then exported to the European Union (EU), qualifying for more subsidies... This threatens Europe's nascent bio-diesel production, said the board: 700,000 tonnes of US methyl ester have entered the EU since January 2007 (90,000 tonnes for all 2006). This "sharp increase in imports is only explainable by unfair support measures," said the board...
* UK - Waitrose trials rapeseed oil on trucks
London,UK -Road Transport, by Dylan Gray -12 November 2007: -- Supermarket chain Waitrose is launching a six-month trial of five trucks modified to run on rapeseed oil. If the trials are successful the company plans to roll out this technology across its fleet of 300 vehicles... A spokeswoman describes the changes needed to convert the trucks as "minor adaptations" to cope with the viscosity of rapeseed oil during the trial the biofuel will be contained in an additional fuel tank... She adds: "Another advantage is rapeseed oil is grown in the UK. We would want sustainable resources, so it wouldn't be sustainable if in the long-term land that is currently used in food production was cleared for rapeseed, but it's often grown as a break crop." (ie, grown within an agricultural cycle to replenish nutrients in the soil)... She reports that fuel consumption is comparable with Waitrose's conventional diesel trucks at about 10.5mpg... It fleet comprises Dafs and Volvos...Labels: alternative fuels
posted by Unknown @ 7:19 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home