Biodiesel Blends Now a Reality in Canada

The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association (CRFA) today lauded the announcement of a national 2% biodiesel mandate in Canada as good news for consumers, farmers and energy diversity in Canada.

“This is a milestone day for homegrown renewable biodiesel in Canada. Biodiesel is a better way to drive and an innovative way to fuel our economy,” said Gordon Quaiattini, CRFA president in reacting to the federal government’s announcement of a 2 per cent Renewable Fuels Standard for biodiesel. “Biodiesel is a cleaner alternative to conventional diesel. It will help moderate price by adding to our fuel supply, create new jobs, and benefit farmers and drivers alike.”

Biodiesel contains no petroleum and can be made from a variety of renewable raw materials, or feedstocks, including pure seed oils, animal fats and recycled cooking oils. It performs comparably to petroleum diesel in terms of fuel economy, horsepower and torque. Biodiesel is safe to use in all diesel vehicles, and also can be used as heating oil and in a variety of other applications, including marine transportation, electrical generation, farming equipment and mining operations.

Biodiesel is 10 times less toxic than table salt and is as biodegradable as sugar. Independent studies have shown that Canadian produced biodiesel generates between 85 to 99 per cent less greenhouse gases, depending on feedstock, compared to conventional diesel fuel.

>From an economic perspective, renewable fuels such as ethanol and
biodiesel in Canada are a substantial source of economic and financial benefit to rural Canada. Construction of biofuels facilities has generated roughly $3 billion in economic activity and ongoing operations represent a $2 billion annual economic contribution.

For Canadian farmers, higher incomes that flow from the sale of surplus feedstock bring additional security and lessen reliance on income and safety net programs.

“Today’s announcement sets the stage for Canada to become a world leader in advanced biofuels,” added Mr. Quaiattini. “The production and the commercialization of next generation advanced biofuels using state-of-the-art technologies and a wide variety of feedstocks is underway. Thanks to the entrepreneurial spirit of our biofuel pioneers and a stable policy environment the future is now for advanced biofuels in Canada.”