Industry sets agenda | Canadian Renewable Fuels Association makes six recommendations
The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association has 2020 vision.
The association released its 19 page Evolution and Growth document last week, which sets out a plan that will take the industry through the end of the decade.
It includes six recommendations for provincial and federal governments on how they can support the biofuel sector.
“These are the pivot points that we think will be important for establishing a green energy superpower here in Canada,” said CRFA president Scott Thurlow.
One of the recommendations calls on Ottawa to raise the federal renewable diesel mandate by 0.5 percentage points a year until it reaches five percent by 2020, up from two percent today.
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“We believe there is no technical impediment to increasing that level to five percent,” said Thurlow.
“There is no technical barrier, and anyone who says otherwise just needs to visit the great state of Minnesota just south of Manitoba, where they run five percent renewable diesel all year round.”
Bill Simpkins, spokesperson for the Canadian Fuels Association, representing Canada’s petroleum refiners, doesn’t understand what has changed since the federal government conducted an analysis a few years ago that determined two percent was the appropriate mandate.
“I’m not sure how they would justify (increasing the mandate) against what the federal government is saying,” he said.
Thurlow believes this is an ideal year to twist the arms of politicians because growers are expected to carry over 3.3 million tonnes of canola. A larger mandate would provide a nice home for some of that surplus.
The CRFA isn’t pushing for a boost in the ethanol mandate. In its previous vision document, which was released in 2010, the group said it would like to see a 10 percent national mandate, up from the five percent in place today. There is no mention of that in the new document.
Instead, the group is calling for increased investment in E20 and E30 infrastructure at the pumps. It wants government programs that would encourage the installation of equipment at gas stations capable of dispensing blends containing 20 or 30 percent ethanol.
“If a government proposes a 10 percent mandate, I would certainly support it, but I am dedicating my energy to ensure consumer choice for higher blends at the pumps rather than across the entire fuel pool,” said Thurlow.
Starting in 2017, North American automakers will be required to improve their fuel economy under Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. By 2025, they will be required to meet an average fuel economy standard of 54 miles per gallon across their entire fleet.
Thurlow said the best way to meet those fuel economy standards is to use high octane fuel in small compression engines, and E20 and E30 ethanol blends are the cheapest and cleanest way to boost octane levels in fuel.
He said ethanol is consistently cheaper than gasoline, so the higher blends would lower prices for consumers.
Simpkins said that is an overly simplistic analysis.
“Ethanol has about 30 percent less energy density than gasoline, so you have to fill up more often the more ethanol that you put into a vehicle,” he said. “That has always been one of the big issues with ethanol. You just don’t go as far.”
Other elements of the CRFA’s action plan include supporting government policies that put a price on carbon, bridging the funding gap between biofuel innovation and development and exempting cellulosic ethanol from federal and provincial excise taxes of 25 to 30 cents per litre.
The group would also like to find an ally in Ottawa dedicated to building Canada’s bioeconomy.
“Right now, we have five or six departments that are all touching (the file). They all have their toe in, but there are none that are diving right into it,” said Thurlow.
“We need a champion in cabinet who can act as the driver for all of these industries.”
