Argentina will be using more biodiesel in its power generation and vehicles. In a move to help its biodiesel industry hit by European sanctions, Biofuels International reports the South American country will require a 10 percent biodiesel blend in fuel burned for power generation and will step up vehicle blends to 10 percent starting next month.
Biodiesel producers have been pushing hard to convince the government to raise the local blending requirements for mixing biodiesel with conventional fuel to compensate for European trade lost after the EU imposed strict anti-dumping duties on Argentinian imports earlier this year.
The government has said it wants to raise the biodiesel blending requirement to 20% by 2015, but has so far struggled to increase the actual blend much higher than the original 7% mandate set in 2006.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, Argentina exported 755,200 metric tons of biodiesel from January to September of this year compared to the 1.3 million tons shipped during the same period in 2012, according to Argentine biofuels chamber Carbio.
Biodiesel is big stakes for Argentina, as the country’s refiners have spent about $500 million to build biodiesel plants in recent years.