Australia: Biofuel booming, but needs more support

Biofuel production in Australia is booming but the fuel will require further government support to become a viable alternative to conventional fuels in the future, according to a study.

The 200-page report says Australia should easily reach the federal government’s production target of 350 million litres of ethanol and biodiesel by 2010, but faces rising costs and limited supplies of major feedstocks.
Report co-author and EnergyQuest chief executive Graeme Bethune said biofuel production capacity is likely to exceed 640 million litres a year by the end of 2007 and could reach 2,400 million litres by 2010.

However, Dr Bethune said that without government support the cost of producing biofuels was higher than conventional fuels.

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