The new year will mark a new requirement for all diesel fuel sold in Brazil: it must contain at least two percent biodiesel.
Brazil is already a world leader in ethanol production, and this article from The Canadian Press says the new requirement will help grow the biodiesel industry in the country as well:
“The great advantage is for the country to have an alternative fuel that helps in the reduction of carbon gas emissions, that reduces pollution,” Mines and Energy Minister Nelson Hubner said at a press conference in Brasilia, the country’s capital.
All filling stations will be required to offer diesel containing two per cent vegetable oil starting Tuesday, Huber said. He expressed confidence there will be enough biodiesel available to meet the demand, but acknowledged some potential delivery problems at first in remote areas of the country.
Some 800 million litres (about 200 million gallons) of biodiesel will be needed annually to meet the two per cent demand, but Brazil already has the capacity to produce more than three times that amount, he said.
Fuel distributors said they will be prepared.
Officials say it’s taken some major upgrades to the infrastructure to be able to make this feasible, but it will be ready for the new year.