June 19, 2019
By Erin Voegele
A reported released June 11 by the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Bioethanol found that the immediate introduction of E10 in the U.K. market could save drivers approximately £100 million ($126.44 million) in 2020.
The report explains that the All Party Parliamentary Group on Bioethanol launched an inquiry into the introduction of E10 in the U.K. in March. The interim report released June 11 brings the first stage of that inquiry to a close.
According to the report, without the swift introduction of E10, the U.K. economy could lose its £1 billion ethanol industry, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs. The loss of the British ethanol industry would also impact the country’s ability to attract additional investments for next-generation biofuels and enhanced animal feed coproducts. In addition, the loss of the U.K.’s ethanol industry would cause increased dependence on foreign sources of biofuel. Farmers would also be impacted through the loss of markets for surplus crops and the availability of ethanol coproducts used for feed.
The report stresses the introduction of E10 would assist the U.K. in achieve its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, noting the use of ethanol is low-cost in comparison to other options. The U.K.’s GHG reduction requirement for 2019 is currently set at 4 percent for 2019, and is set to increase to 6 percent in 2020. The group said introducing E10 could reduce the impact of that increase, which is most likely to be passed down to drivers as an increase in fuel prices. The report predicts E10 could save consumers £100 million in fuel costs. The use of E10 and higher blends of ethanol would also improve air quality.
Within the report, the group calls on the U.K. Department of Transport to publish its response to its own consultation on E10 without further delay. That consultation closed in September 2018.
The group also calls on the Secretary of State for Transport to host an emergency summit on the future of the British ethanol industry, bringing together all relevant stakeholders before the summer parliamentary recess. “This is needed in order to quickly agree the most efficient, transparent and cost effective way E10 could be introduced in the U.K. by 2020 to safeguard this industry, realize the many economic and environmental benefits it would deliver, and avoid potentially adding millions of pounds to motorist’s fuel bills,” the group said in the report.
The U.K. Renewable Energy Association released a statement welcoming the report’s findings. “E10 has a crucial role to play in the decarbonization of U.K. transport and with the correct policy support from government, could save motorists £100 million in its first year of implementation,” said Nina Skorupska, chief executive of the REA. “The electrification of passenger vehicles is gaining momentum and whilst supply chains develop and costs reduce, E10 is essential in offering cost-effective and immediate GHG savings.
“Whether meeting our legally binding climate targets or realizing the more ambitious targets of net-zero GHG by 2050, we need to utilize all technologies available and the complimentary deployment of biofuels and electrification is a perfect example of the forward thinking needed to achieve this,” Skorupska continued.
A full copy of the interim report can be downloaded from the APPG for British Bioethanol website.
Read the original article: Report: E10 Could Save UK Drivers £100 Million In 2020