Print VersionEverybody's fuel - Biofuel comment May '07
Biofuel still has vehicle future despite scare stories, says Masterlease
Masterlease says biofuel still has the potential to provide a sustainable alternative to petrol for years to come – as long as lessons are learnt from the mistakes of recent decades.
There are concerns that rapid growth of biofuel as a source of power will have a negative effect on the economy and ecosystems of developing countries, but Masterlease says that taking a sustainable and long-term approach will ensure its success.
The United Nations recently published a report that claimed that the best use of biofuels would be used for combined heat and power (CHP) rather than to power vehicles. However, Masterlease says vehicle manufacturers had supported the development of biofuel technology and must be allowed to reap the benefits.
Robert Kingdom from Masterlease said: “We have relied too heavily on fossil fuels for the past 30 or 40 years – this appears to be bringing the environment to its knees while supplies of these fuels are finite. Biofuels represent an excellent alternative to these and is certainly being backed by major manufacturers whose biofuel vehicles are not only cleaner but often more efficient than their petrol or diesel equivalents.
“Vehicle manufacturers and users have been an easy target for criticism when it comes to examining environmental impact so they should not be left out of the loop now the technology is advanced enough to make it a viable alternative.
“However, neither domestic energy providers nor vehicle manufacturers should see Biofuel as an end to all their problems as this will create an unreasonable strain on the farmers and nations that are expected to produce them. There is already evidence to suggest that forests are being cleared too quickly to provide land for growing crops. Hopefully we will have learned lessons from the past – approaching the production of biofuels in an unsustainable way won’t benefit anybody in the long-term.
“The same goes for powering the national grid, for example. There is no way that you could rely solely on wind or solar power to provide the nation’s energy, but adding wind, solar and tidal power to the existing set-up will make energy creation cleaner and cheaper. Likewise their benefits should be applied to a range of uses, including both domestic and vehicle energy.
“In environmental terms, there will always be a downside to every form of transport – even charging electric cars will burn fossil fuels at power stations – but by making the most of a variety of approaches, we can ensure that there is no single overbearing drain on one particular resource.”
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For further details please contact Hilary Field or Beth Heaney at IAS SMARTS on 0121 456 3199 or email: beth.heaney@iassmarts.co.uk
