Britain Sees US Imports as Threat to UK Biofuels
Date: 30-Mar-07
Country: UK
"That is undermining the commercial case for investment in Europe. It is one of the things that we have got to try and sort out," he told a conference organised by biofuels industry lobby group, the Environmental Industries Commission.
The United States has seen rapid growth in its bioethanol industry, boosted by strong goverment support motivated by a desire for energy security.
European biodiesel makers have made the same complaint to Brussels -- that increasing sales of US biodiesel are being made in the EU with the help of unfair subsidies.
Britain offers tax incentives for motor fuels which contain biofuels as part of its effort to reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases which are believed to contribute to global warming. The incentive is provided to both domestically produced and imported biofuels.
Bioethanol, which is usually blended with petrol, can be made from grains or sugar crops. The US and Brazil are the world's two leading producers of bioethanol.
Britain currently has no significant bioethanol plants although many are planned. It currently imports much of its bioethanol from Brazil.