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Summary
- Biofuels discussion activated by the Climate Change Commission
- Is it time for New Zealand to make the leap?
- Is it feasible for Biofuels to replace Fossil fuels completely?
Biofuels are the ones that are created using biomass and natural waste like compost and other organic material. There have been talks on whether there could come a time when biofuels could be the primary source of fuels, the many economic and climatic benefits that this would entail. Let us discuss it further to see if this is a distant dream or actually something achievable in the foreseeable future.
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Research shows that while New Zealand may have the land in order to produce enough biomass to completely replace the fossil fuel being used in the country. Will the country be able to do so with the technology or other infrastructure available economically? That is a different question altogether.
There has been a detailed report submitted on the matter to the Government by the Climate Change Commission that gives a rundown on the costs, conditions, and benefits, along with the alternatives to the fuel situation. There is however no realistic way in which the country can make a complete switch to biofuels in the current scenario, given all acting factors.
The report suggests that biofuels along with other green alternatives to energy can definitely cover a larger base as compared to earlier replacing more energy from fossil fuels, than estimated earlier.
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Biofuels, the Good and the Bad.
Now in the case of transport, while biofuels are beneficial and convenient, they are difficult to produce. The process of converting biomass into usable biofuels is also one that wastes a lot of energy. This is the reason the Commission currently advices that biofuels are going to be a costlier option.
Also read: What is New Zealand’s energy mix? How does it plan to reduce carbon footprint?
The change has come about via battery driven vehicles, which are recorded to be about 90% as efficient and use the same amount of energy about 2-3 times as compared to regular fuels such a diesel and liquid petrol.
It is also found that biofuel generation can tend to have several detrimental environmental impacts such as carbon loss from the soil and emission of nitrous oxide. Another possible side effect of the change of process for creating biofuels could be soil erosion.
Read now: Z Energy (NZX:ZEL) lauds Government Biofuels policy announcement
Energy conservation is the only practical solution at the moment. One such example is the growing use of wood rather than coal for the heat production in various industries, especially the dairy industry. Conservation at the home level and up, everything counts.
Also read: Amazon’s green energy initiative: strikes deal to buy over 380MW of clean power
