Renewable fuels being overlooked in rush to electrify, says Bioenergy Australia report

According to a new report released by Bioenergy Australia on Monday, the nation faces “environmental, economic and energy security risks” unless governments encourage a renewable fuels industry.

The Transitioning Australia’s Liquid Fuel Sector: The Role of Renewable Fuels report (linked) considers decarbonisation “where electrification is impractical”, including transport, mining, agriculture and construction sectors, which represent 45 per cent of energy consumption.

It also claims $10 billion in GDP could be added annually – with 26,200 new jobs – through development of a mature bioenergy sector, a domain where Australia was lagging internationally.

Among findings, it highlights opportunities including: 

• Replacing 6 per cent of petrol with bioethanol, based on current targets, would be equivalent to taking 730,000 vehicles off the road;

• Replacing 2 per cent of diesel with biodiesel or renewable diesel (also based on current targets) would equate to removing 29,000 rigid trucks; and

• Replacing 10 per cent of jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel (based on airline targets) would equate to around 220 million fewer kilometres flown annually by a Boeing 747.

Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie said electrification is essential to a significant portion of the energy system. However, it is not the complete answer, and sole dependence on it was “naïve and delaying a robust discussion” on addressing hard-to-abate sectors.

“The full-throttled pursuit of electrification is going to be a handbrake on Australia’s pursuit of its  emissions reduction targets, leaving significant sectors in our economy unable to decarbonise in an affordable, reliable way,” she said in a statement.

“We must give businesses in these critical sectors the unimpeded ability to reduce their emissions and not simply leave them to their own devices, or their own demise.”

“Renewable fuel is their answer. We just need to provide it, affordably and at scale.”

Further reading

Saving through smarter energy use: Why we’re starting to consider bioenergy

“First of its kind” national roadmap acknowledges urgency of growing sector: Bioenergy Australia 

Sugar to jetfuel and waste to diesel projects among Bioenergy Innovation Award winners