Biodiesel blueprint comes under industry spotlight

Industry leaders, researchers and farmers will discuss opportunities for Australia's biodiesel production when they consider a new blueprint for the sector's future.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Sussan Ley, opened Australian Agricultural Crop Technologies' (AACT) Biodiesel for Agriculture Workshop in Canberra, where AACT launched its Regional Sustainable Model for biodiesel.

"This study, funded by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, shows there is real potential to propel the fledgling biodiesel industry towards a new production base," Ley said.

"It is a refreshing approach — producing an oil crop in regional cooperatives and delivering local ownership of renewable energy.

"This model is a great starting block for a sustainable biodiesel industry, and an agriculture sector that produces and consumes its own fuel needs."

The AACT plan proposes farmers begin growing an industrial oil crop, Indian mustard, through a regional grower network. The cooperative would then convert the crop to biodiesel through local enterprise hubs and use the product to fuel their farms.

Ley said the success of Australia's biofuels industry would depend on factors including consumer confidence and feedstock price and availability.

"AACT's model will help the industry to assess how these factors might affect the viability of biodiesel investments," Ley said.

"Around the world, high expectations have been placed on biofuels by people looking for solutions to some of the globe's most pressing problems, including climate change, future economic development and the reliability of low-cost fuel supplies.

"This report sets out a potential new path for Australian biodiesel production that could offer agriculture an entry ticket to the energy industry, and strengthen our rural communities."