Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation
Encyclopedia
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is a requirement on transport fuel suppliers to ensure that 5 percent of all road vehicle fuel is supplied is from sustainable renewable sources by 2010. The Government intends to set variable targets for the level of carbon and sustainability performance expected from all transport fuel suppliers claiming certificates for biofuels in the early years of the RTFO.
The announcement to introduce the Obligation was made on 10 November 2005 http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=177217&NewsAreaID=2, using powers included in the Energy Act 2004
Energy Act 2004
The Energy Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.-Section 198 - Short title, commencement and extent:The following orders have been made under this section:* *...
. It came into force on 15 April 2008 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2007/uksi_20073072_en_2#pt2. In mid-2005, biofuel made up 0.25% of overall road fuel sales, around 50% of it imported http://www.biodiesel.co.uk/biofuels_breakthrough.htm.
In practice, the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation will mostly be achieved by blending bioethanol
Ethanol fuel
Ethanol fuel is ethanol , the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. It is most often used as a motor fuel, mainly as a biofuel additive for gasoline. World ethanol production for transport fuel tripled between 2000 and 2007 from 17 billion to more than 52 billion litres...
, biomethanol
Methanol fuel
Methanol is an alternative fuel for internal combustion and other engines, either in combination with gasoline or directly . It is used in racing cars and in China...
, biodiesel
Biodiesel
Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids with an alcohol....
and biogas
Biogas
Biogas typically refers to a gas produced by the biological breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Organic waste such as dead plant and animal material, animal dung, and kitchen waste can be converted into a gaseous fuel called biogas...
(derived from sources such as palm oil
Palm oil
Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...
, oilseed rape
Rapeseed
Rapeseed , also known as rape, oilseed rape, rapa, rappi, rapaseed is a bright yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae...
, cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, sugar cane, sugar beet
Sugar beet
Sugar beet, a cultivated plant of Beta vulgaris, is a plant whose tuber contains a high concentration of sucrose. It is grown commercially for sugar production. Sugar beets and other B...
, and reprocessed vegetable oil) with fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s. Almost all existing vehicles are able to run on a 5% blend, although in some cases fuel system adjustment may be needed. Consideration should also be given to the effect of biofuel constituents on fuel system parts such as rubber hoses, particularly in older or classic vehicles. Flexible Fuel Vehicles
Flexible-fuel vehicle
A flexible-fuel vehicle or dual-fuel vehicle is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank...
, currently more common in the Americas than in Europe, are able to use blends of up to 85% ethanol in the U.S. and Canada, and up to 100% hydrous ethanol in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
.
The requirement that the biofuel sources should be sustainable is also important. In South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, the production of biofuels for export has in some cases resulted in significant ecological damage, including the clearing of rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
.
In the future, the Department for Transport
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
estimate that up to 1/3 of the fuel in the UK transport sector could be produced from home-grown biofuels. In addition to contributing to cutting carbon emissions, the use of biofuels is seen as widening the country's fuel diversity and increasing fuel security
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
.
The RTFO will help bring the UK into line with European Union biofuels directive
Directive on the Promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport
The Directive on the Promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport, officially 2003/30/EC and popularly better known as the biofuels directive is a European Union directive for promoting the use of biofuels for EU transport...
, which sets targets for all EU countries for biofuel usage of 2% by the end of 2005 and 5.75% by the end of 2010.
Implementation
The RTFO will be implemented through a certification scheme administered by the Renewable Fuels AgencyRenewable Fuels Agency
The Renewable Fuels Agency was a UK Government non-departmental public body, created by the Department for Transport to implement the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation or RTFO. The Agency ceased to exist at midnight on the 31st March 2011...
. Companies certified as having sold more than the 5% obligation will be able to sell their certificates for the excess to those who sold less.
See also
- Biodiesel in the United KingdomBiodiesel in the United KingdomBiodiesel is rapidly becoming more common in a number of developed countries and the environmental effects of using biodiesel either as a blend such as B20 or as a straight fuel stock may be different in various countries. This is because the allowable amounts of sulphur and other compounds vary...
- Climate changeClimate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
- Energy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use in the United Kingdom stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total...
- Energy policy of the United KingdomEnergy policy of the United KingdomThe current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
- Hybrid vehicleHybrid vehicleA hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle. The term most commonly refers to hybrid electric vehicles , which combine an internal combustion engine and one or more electric motors.-Power:...
- Peak oilHubbert peak theoryThe Hubbert peak theory posits that for any given geographical area, from an individual oil-producing region to the planet as a whole, the rate of petroleum production tends to follow a bell-shaped curve...
- Low-carbon fuel standardLow-carbon fuel standardA low-carbon fuel standard is a rule enacted to reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels as compared to conventional petroleum fuels, such as gasoline and diesel. The most common low-carbon fuels are alternative fuels and cleaner fossil fuels, such as natural gas...
External links
- Text of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations Order 2007 from the Office of Public Sector InformationOffice of Public Sector InformationThe Office of Public Sector Information is the body responsible for the operation of Her Majesty's Stationery Office and of other public information services of the United Kingdom...
- Department for Transport Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation feasibility report
- Critique of Government biofuels policy
In the media
- 26 July 2006 , The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Biofuels fires up its Teesside production - 2 November 2005, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, All cars will run on 'biofuel' mix by 2010 - May 2002, European Environmental BureauEuropean Environmental BureauThe European Environmental Bureau is a federation of over 140 environmental citizens’ organisations based in all 27 European Union Member States, potential Member States and a few neighbouring countries. These organisations range from local and national, to European and international...
, Biofuels not as green as they sound - 23 November 2004, Feeding Cars, Not People, George Monbiot http://www.monbiot.com/archives/2004/11/23/feeding-cars-not-people/