Motorists’ take-up of biodiesel has increased appreciably and the environmentally-friendly alternative to fossil fuels is now available at the pumps of 15 petrol stations in Malta and three in Gozo, EORC commercial manager Pippo Psaila said yesterday.

Before the expansion, biodiesel had only been available from the EORC factory in Marsa and now consumers have been presented with better access to the green energy source. Speaking at a press conference announcing the significant widening of the biodiesel offering, Mr Psaila described the development as a “milestone”.

“One of the main benefits of BioPower (biodiesel’s brand name) is that it reduces the emissions that threaten human health,” he explained. “Being made from renewable resources, it has been technically proven by independent academic research that biodiesel has lower emissions compared to diesel fuel and can help cut emissions, thus reducing our contribution to global warming as well as the threat to human health such as respiratory ailments and cancer.”

Biodiesel is a clean-burning fuel with four to five per cent better fuel efficiency than regular diesel. It is produced from vegetable oils and fats sourced from used commercial and domestic cooking oils.

Also addressing the conference, Rural Affairs and Environment Minister George Pullicino explained how the use of biodiesel had a two-fold beneficial effect. Firstly it reduces the amount of used cooking oil making its way into Malta’s drainage system, which presents what he described as a “phenomenal expense” to clear out, not to mention the issue of spillage into the environment. Secondly, the use of biodiesel inevitably reduces the use of carbon dioxide-producing fossil fuels. Malta, Mr Pullicino explained, was the first EU country to waive taxation on biodiesel, after which a handful of other countries followed suit.

Consumption of the alternative fuel is also on the increase, as well as its collection. Consumption had reached 1.3 million litres between January and October of this year, representing a 10 per cent increase over the previous year’s 10-month period. As such, Mr Pullicino added, Malta is line to reach the EU target of seeing two per cent of vehicle fuel consumed coming from green sources. In Malta’s case, this would amount to the sale of 1.6 million litres per annum.

The system through which used domestic cooking oil can be returned to petrol stations by households is also to be extended and government departments are to be given guidelines to use biodiesel to fuel their vehicles where possible.

Collection of used cooking oil, meanwhile, has also increased and 1,100 tonnes have been collected from catering establishments so far this year. In total, since the launch of the project in April 2004, 2,600 tonnes were collected.

As opposed to other EU countries, where biodiesel producers charge commercial establishments for the collection of used oils, in Malta’s case such businesses are actually paid 10c per litre collected. Domestic contributors of used oil are meanwhile entered into a lottery offering a number of prizes as an incentive to engage in the eco-scheme.

Despite the fact that biodiesel is some four times more expensive to refine than crude oil, the product is significantly cheaper in Malta, beating countries such as the UK where the price is some 23 per cent higher at the pump.

One glitch that the introduction of biodiesel has been faced with lies in the Enemalta Act, which prevents the mixing of biodiesel with conventional diesel to create a blended product. As such products such as B20, which mixes, through a diffuser, 80 per cent diesel with 20 per cent biodiesel, are not allowed on the market. Only the B100 product, 100 per cent biodiesel, is available at the moment, although Mr Pullicino said legislative changes along these lines could, hopefully, be expected this year.

Biodiesel can be used in all existing diesel engines and fuel injection equipment without any engine modification. It actually improves engine performance, has excellent lubrication qualities and, over and above all else, is an extremely environmentally-friendly product.