A crucial part of the solution

For over a decade, the State has operated a Biofuels Obligation Scheme which requires that motor fuels contain a progressively increasing quantity of biofuels. This has been a major success: the use of biofuels in road transport fuels is reducing carbon emissions by 330,000 tonnes each year.

The Government calls the Biofuels Obligation Scheme “a key pillar of energy policy,” and the recently published Renewable Fuels for Transport Policy Statementoutlined the Government’s plans to increase the Biofuel Obligation in road transport while extending it to include the rail sector. Energy experts have highlighted the role which biofuels will play in decarbonising various energy sectors.

Given the sustainability criteria in place and the fact that the great majority of biofuel placed on the market in Ireland is produced from used cooking oil (UCO) - with domestically-produced tallow from the Irish meat industry also playing a substantial role - policymakers are right to look to biofuels in the transport sector.

But to accelerate the energy transition, biofuels and other sustainable alternatives must also be used to reduce emissions within the home heating sector. Furthermore, new fuels and developments mean that far greater reductions could be realised very quickly, and at a cost which is affordable to the overwhelming majority of Irish households. New research by the world-leading infrastructure consulting firm AECOM clearly demonstrates that the use of bioliquid blends in home heating would be a viable transition away from the current reliance on kerosene and would offer significant carbon savings in a short time frame.

Using a bioliquid blend such as B50K could cut emissions per dwelling by up to 41%, and this reduction could be achieved at a much lower cost for the household compared to options such as an air source heat pump. Other options could result in even more dramatic reductions in emissions - the use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) would cut emissions by up to 86%.