BIOMASS HUB

Michelle Crimson reports that Saab’s UK chief believes that Britain is falling far behind some other European countries in terms of adopting new biofuel technology.

Jonathon Nash, managing director at Saab, argues that stronger standards and policy from the UK would provide needed certainty for car manufacturers and “give confidence to motorists and other players in the emerging sector.”  As a contrast, in Sweden, reconditioned filling stations were only given planning permission if they stocked E85.  Motorists can buy the fuel in more than 800 locations, but from only 15 Morrisons filling stations in the UK.

According to Mr. Nash:

[C]ars that are designed to run on E85 had a 20 percent increase in power and a 30 percent increase in torque as compared to those running on conventional fuel, but could still use straight petrol where necessary.

But the growth of ethanol in the UK may come at significant cost.  Peter Browne reports on Green Inc. that the push for increasing the supply of biofuels in the Britain has led to pressure on the agricultural sector, specifically wheat, which may cause a reorientation of policy.  The British National Farmers’ Union argues that the growth of the biofuels industry in Britain may have the potential to turn the country into a net importer of wheat for the first time in its history.

If these trends continue, the lobby has noted, it could bring an end to Britain’s self sufficiency in wheat.  Ian Blackhouse, the chairman of the National Farmers’ Union’s combinable crops board, argues:

In a poor harvest, Britain may need to meet domestic demand by shipping in extra supplies from other producers such as Canada or France.

Although this would mean new business for the farm industry, it raises serious concerns about the efficacy of biofuels policies in countries where crop yields are essentially maxed out.

Commenting at his blog, Madsen Pirie, the president of the Adam Smith Institute, Britain’s leading free-market economic and social think tank, said:

Of all the insanities committed in the name of green politics, one of the most insane is the production of biofuels from food crops. In pursuit of increased proportion of energy from renewable sources, governments have realized that wind and solar power cannot make sufficiently large contributions. They have therefore turned to biofuels, a move that hugely delights their farming lobbies.

Despite the criticism, the jury is still out on biofuels.  The move from first generation biofuels is underway, with potentially wildly successful improvements in the production and refining of non-food feedstocks and algae.

Image: Flickr/Jonr