6 Aug 2010

Call for Govt subsidies for biofuel research

8:20 am on 6 August 2010

A much bigger Government commitment is seen as being needed to get an alternative fuels industry properly established in this country.

Currently only small quantities of biodiesel are produced here, using vegetable oil and tallow from meat processing, and a small amount of bioethanol is made from dairy whey.

The Government has extended a grants scheme to encourage biodiesel production.

But Dr Jim Watson, who works with a New Zealand syndicate on biofuel options, says the biggest obstacle is finding investment money to set up processing plants.

He says that's going to require a much greater level of Government support, including subsidies.