Biofuels Directive – implications for Ireland

Pearse Buckley
Project Manager - Biomass

Institute of Engineers of Ireland

31st March 2004
Overview

• Brief introduction to SEI

• Background to Biofuels Directive
• Biofuels Directive
• Ireland’s transport fuel use
• Biofuels options
• Achieving the Directive targets
• Related issues
• Summary & Questions
 Brief introduction to SEI

• Established by Sustainable Energy Act 2002

• Remit includes
• Promotion of energy efficiency
• Promotion of renewable forms of energy

• Sustainable Energy Services Division

• One of five Divisions
• Renewables including bioenergy
 Background to Biofuels
Directive

• Kyoto Protocol agreed in 1997

• European Union - 8% reduction compared to 1990 by
2008-2012

• EU burden sharing agreement

• Ireland’s limit +13% by 2008 – 2012
• Annual limit 60 million tonnes CO2eq by 2008 – 2012

• Ireland’s current position

Background to Biofuels Directive

80,000
68252 70018
70,000 66257
64128
62031
56527 57583 59249
60,000 55105 54803
53418 54282
Gg CO 2 Equivalent

50,000

40,000

30,000
National Total
20,000 Protocol Target

10,000

0
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Ireland’s GHG emissions 1990-2001 from McGettigan, EPA

 Background to Biofuels
Directive

• EU White Paper – Community Strategy & Action

Plan 1997 (COM (97) 599 Final)

• Renewables 12% of EU energy supply by 2010

• Bioenergy the major contributor to the target

 Background to Biofuels
Directive

• EU Green Paper – Towards a European strategy

for the security of energy supply - 2001

• Security of supply
• Import dependence from current 50% to 70% by
2030 under BAU

• Environmental benefits
• Reduced GHG emissions with renewables
 Background to Biofuels
Directive

• Ireland’s Green Paper on Sustainable Energy

1999
• Security of supply
• Development of renewable energy sources
• Minimisation of GHG emissions

• Ireland’s National Climate Change Strategy 2000

• 1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents reduction from
deployment of renewables
 Background to Biofuels
Directive

• Implementing EU White Paper

• EU Directive on Electricity from Renewable Energy

Sources (2001/77/EC) (RES-E)

• EU Directive on the promotion of Biofuels / renewable

fuels for Transport (2003/30/EC)
Biofuels Directive

• Adopted in 2003

• Member States to ensure

“a minimum proportion of biofuels or other
renewable fuels is placed on their markets”

• Set “Reference targets” (based on energy content)

• 2% by 2005
• 5.75% by 2010
of all petrol & diesel for transport
Biofuels Directive

• Member State to produce bi-annual report starting

in 2004
• First report to identify 2005 target

• Commission to produce bi-annual report starting in

2006
• First report could be followed by proposals for
mandatory targets
 Ireland’s transport fuel use

• Total Primary Energy Requirement

• 87% imported in 2001

• Total Final Consumption Residential

TFC 2001

24.0%

Commercial /
Public
14.2%

Agriculture
Transport
3.0%
38.6%
Industry
20.2%
Ireland’s transport fuel use

• Transport fuels
• Diesel
• 300,000 tonnes/year - Whitegate

• Balance imported

• Petrol
• 100% imported
Ireland’s transport fuel use

Transport Diesel Unleaded Gasoline

Imported 2002 Imported 2002

Denmark Denmark
Norway
1.6% Norway 0.2%
7.5%
12.4%

UK UK
86.0% 92.3%
 Ireland’s transport fuel use

Transportation fuel use in 2002

Fuel Type Current 2% Fuel Quantity

Fuel Quantity to be substituted
(ktonnes) (ktonnes)
Diesel (road, rail, inland navigation) 1,832 37
Petrol (road transport) 1,514 30
Total (Diesel and Petrol) 3,346 67
Ireland’s transport fuel use

Current price at pump (average February 2004)

• Diesel €0.834 / litre (incl. duty & tax)

• Unleaded petrol €0.908 / litre (incl. duty & tax)

Biofuels options

• Substitution for diesel

• Pressed oilseed oil

• Biodiesel

• Substitution for petrol

• Bioethanol
 Biofuels options

• Pressed oilseed rape oil

• Produce oilseed rape

• Press & filter

• Use in modified diesel
engine – kit typically
€1,500 / vehicle installed
• Fuel cost estimate - €0.51
- €0.60 / litre excl. tax &
duty
 Biofuels options

• Pressed oilseed rape

oil
• Small scale

• Low production
plant capital
investment ~
€250,000 to
€300,000
Biofuels options

• Biodiesel
• Feedstocks
• Oilseed oil
• Recovered vegetable oil (RVO)
• tallow
• Trans-esterification to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME)

• Density 0.88kg/litre (~5% greater than diesel)

• Calorific Value 32.9 MJ/litre (~8% less than diesel)
• Fuel cost estimate €0.73 / litre based on oilseed rape
oil
• Processing plant capital investment significant - €5
to 10 million for 20,000 tpy plant
Biodiesel plant - 60,000 tonnes per year, Leer, Germany
Biofuels options

• Biodiesel use
• Can be blended with diesel in any ratio
• At 5% blend - use in standard diesel engine
• Greater then 5% blend – depends on vehicle
manufacturer
• In France – 5% blend
• In Germany / Austria – 100% biodiesel used
Biofuels options

1165
1200

1000 916

800 714

600 475 470

435
390
400 280

150
200 80
55

0
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

Biodiesel production in the EU (ktonnes)

Biofuels options

• Bioethanol
• From sugar beet, wheat (future lignocellulosics)
• Pretreatment / fermentation / distillation
• Density 0.8 kg/litre (~7% greater than petrol)
• Calorific Value 21.1 MJ/litre (~68% that of petrol
v/v)
• Fuel cost estimate €0.63 / litre
 Biofuels options

Badger State Ethanol Plant, Wisconsin

• 380,000 tonnes corn

converted to 151
million litres /yr ethanol

• Capital cost $55 million

(€45 million)
 Biofuels options

• Bioethanol
• Can be blended with petrol in any ratio
• At 5% (to 10%?) use in standard petrol engines
• Flexible Fuel Vehicle (FFV) up to 85% (E85)
• Option to convert to ethyl tertiary butyl ether (ETBE)
• In USA – 10% ethanol blend
• In France – blend up to 15% ETBE
Biofuels options

World Bioethanol production 2001 – 31 billion litres

• 63% as fuel ethanol

World Bioethanol Producers 2001

Other
Europe
2%
13%
Brazil
39%

Asia
19%

Other_Americas
3% USA
24%
 Achieving the Directive target
in 2005

Estimated Biofuel quantity for 2% (2005) target

Current Biofuel type Biofuel Quantity Energy Crop Energy crop

Fuel for 2% to produce area required
(ktonnes) biofuel (kha)
Diesel Biodiesel 44 oilseed rape 44
Petrol Bioethanol 53 sugar beet 16

~20% of current arable land

Achieving the Directive
targets

• Use RVO as feedstock for biodiesel

•Reduce area of oilseed rape
•Comply with biodiesel standard EN 14214??

• UK position on Biofuels Directive

Related issues

• Environmental benefit
• A driver for Biofuels Directive
• Life cycle analysis approach important
• GHG benefits depend on
• Feedstock/production process

• Use of co-products
Related issues

Range of estimated greenhouse gas reductions from biofuels

IEA Draft Report - 2004
Related issues

• Security of supply
• Domestic production of biofuels

• Agriculture
• Support for CAP focus on rural economy
development
Related issues

• Exchequer
• Importance of excise relief to biofuels industry

• Estimate of exchequer income foregone of €48

million for 2% target

• Provision in Finance Bill 2004

• Pilot projects
Related issues

• Biofuel imports
• Regions with lower production costs

• Excise & value added foregone

• EU import / export licence scheme in 2003

 Copersucar, Brazil

• 60,000 ha sugarcane
• 3.5 Mtonnes sugarcane

• 144,000 tonnes ethanol

• 200,000 tonnes sugar
• 300,000 MWhe export
• Ethanol production cost $0.16
/ litre
Summary

• Biofuels Directive has established non-mandatory

targets for 2005 & 2010

• Options for Ireland include

• Pressed oilseed oil

• Biodiesel

• Bioethanol

• Need to produce about 100,000 tonnes biofuels for

2005 target
Summary

• Related issues – environment, security of supply,

agriculture, exchequer impacts need to be
considered

• Excise relief important to development of biofuels

industry

• Finance Bill 2004 – a step towards

A Biofuels Industry in Ireland

 Useful Websites

• Department of Communications, Marine and Natural

Resources
• www.dcmnr.ie

• VIEWLS – a collaborative project by parties from Europe &

North America – collect / classify / analyse information on
biofuels
• www.VIEWLS.org

• RE RDD Programme Website Address

• www.sei.ie (select Funded Programmes ? Renewable Energy RD&D)
Contact Information

Pearse Buckley
Project Manager – Biomass
Phone 01 808-2540
E-mail: pearse.buckley@sei.ie
Thank You.

QUESTIONS