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Report on the Canadian Renewable Fuels Summit
Ed Mazurkewich , Business Development Director
December 19, 2008
Amongst the political excitement in Ottawa these past few weeks, there were a few high profile agricultural events happening concurrently, one of which was the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association's (CRFA) annual summit. Delegates came from across the country, and a handful from around the world.
The theme of the conference was "Growing Beyond Oil," and examined our dependency on fossil fuels, as well as the hows and whys of replacing a substantial portion of them with renewable biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. The summit was filled with presentations, including facts and figures of the current situation that provoked several thoughts about where the future is going to sustain our energy demands, our environment, our food supply and our planet. I will share a top line item with you.
In 1974, Brazil imported 80 per cent of its oil and the United States imported 30 per cent. Today, Brazil is energy independent while the U.S. relies on 60 per cent and Canada relies on 55 per cent of its oil to be imported. Ninety per cent of cars sold in Brazil are flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs). Nearly 50 per cent of auto fuel sold in Brazil is ethanol. Soon, 100 per cent of the cars sold in Brazil will be FFVs and ethanol use will continue to increase. There will always be a place for gasoline in Brazil, as almost all autos will be FFVs and consumers can choose between gasoline and ethanol, depending on price. It has been a long road for Brazilians to become energy independent. With the success came many failures. But they got there, with a renewable fuel grown by farmers called sugarcane. The benefits have been numerous, including economic growth, reduction of air pollution, reduction of greenhouse gases, and consumer choice.
In Canada, we have a regulation requiring gasoline contain five percent renewable content by 2010. To meet this demand, private industry must supply two billion liters of renewable fuels. Currently, plants in operation and under construction have a capacity of 1.62 billion liters. On the supply side, the country is a little short. On the demand side, we're even shorter. Although five per cent renewable content is a good start, it's a long way to lessening our oil dependency when considering the increase in oil demand due to more cars on the road. There are many debates to this issue - investment capital, economic development, a strong fossil fuel industry, fuel vs. food, carbon credits, government policy and greenhouse gas emissions. Our society says that we want to go green, yet has little knowledge about renewable fuels.
Three things need to happen to accelerate renewable fuel use:
- Legislators must focus on nationwide fuel specifications
- The market share of FFVs must increase sharply
- Consumers must demand an increase in renewable fuel consumption.
Rather than elaborating on these three items, I will summarize by stating that acceleration will not happen until the agriculture and renewable fuels industries ramp up awareness and knowledge to the Canadian consumer. Think about this - what does your urban cousin know about ethanol as a fuel for his car? What do you know about ethanol as fuel for your car?
Consumers today do not have a choice. When was the last time you pulled up to a fuelling station and had to decide whether to pump gasoline or E85? Did you know that your current car can burn up to 24 per cent ethanol blended with gasoline? Did you know that the modifications necessary to be classified as a FFV costs the manufacturer about $100? Reducing fuel consumption is good. Replacing gasoline is even better!
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