Irish Transport Sector Increased Use of Renewable Energy

14 December 2018

Level of Biofuel in fuel mix to increase from 8% to 10% from January 2019.

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment Richard Bruton T.D., announced his intention to see an increase in the level of use of biofuel in road transport fuels from 8% to 10% by January 2019, with a potential further increase to 11% from January 2020.

The Biofuels Obligation Scheme requires suppliers of road transport fuels to include a proportion of biofuels in fuel placed on the market in Ireland. The inclusion of biofuels in the fuel mix increases the level of renewable energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector.

Minister Bruton stated: "I am currently developing an all of government plan to make Ireland a leader in responding to climate change. This plan will have actions across all sectors of society and will have timelines with clear lines of responsibility. Transitioning to cleaner fuels is an important part of delivering on that ambition. From January of this year, the level of Biofuel will increase from 8% to 10%. I am hoping to increase that level further to 11% from January 2020. This would mean replacing an estimated 70 million litres of fossil fuel with biofuel and is estimated to save almost 200 thousand tonnes of carbon each year. I encourage all interested parties to partake in the consultation."

The draft plan is currently open for consultation.Details on the proposed order and how submissions can be made can be found here.

Read more about this announcement here.