Here's another appalling aspect of the immoral biofuel business. I
call it "immoral" because it is a sin to starve people in order to
feed cars and trucks.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/01/biofuels.energy
Demands for crackdown on biofuels scam - US 'splash and dash' loophole
undermines climate change fight
Terry Macalister - The Guardian, Tuesday
The EU is being urged to take action to stop a biofuel trading scam
that exploits US agricultural subsidies and undermines the fight
against global warming.
Up to 10% of biofuel exports from the US to Europe are believed to be
part of the rogue scheme reaping big profits for agricultural trading
firms.
The "splash and dash" scam involves shipping biodiesel from Europe to
the US where a dash of fuel is added, allowing traders to claim 11p a
litre of US subsidy for the entire cargo. It is then shipped back and
sold below domestic prices, undercutting Europe's biofuel industry.
The trade is not illegal, but flouts the spirit of producing green
fuel by transporting it needlessly across the Atlantic at a time when
campaigners are voicing concern about emissions from global shipping.
The producers' body, the European Biodiesel Board, has uncovered the
trade as part of its investigation into why British, German and
Spanish producers are in financial trouble at a time when biodiesel
prices remain high. The board will call for retaliatory action against
the US over subsidies for its leading biofuel.
Biofuels are plant-based oils from crops such as soy and corn. They
are expensive to produce but have become relatively cheaper as the
price of crude oil has risen to more than $100 a barrel. It is
estimated that 10% of the 1m tonnes of biodiesel exported from the US
to Europe is part of the splash and dash trade.
Doug Ward, director of a Scottish biofuel company and British
representative on the board, said a full report on the impact of US
fuels would be finalised within days. It is expected to recommend that
the European commission initiate an anti-dumping action against
Washington for the subsidy. "We could have sold our product cheaper if
we took it over to the US and brought it back," he said. "No one is
doing anything illegal, but environmentally it's a disaster," he said.
The cheap cost of shipping makes the trade profitable for those
involved.
Ian Waller, a biofuel consultant at the firm FiveBarGate said he
visited the southern states of the US last October and spoke to firms
about splash and dash.
"You get the subsidy for the act of blending, so people are bringing
boats of soy or palm-based biodiesel from Europe and then mixing it
with a bit of local biodiesel - or even fossil-fuel diesel - and then
shipping it back," he said. US producers worried about the trade also
call it the U-boat trade because vessels arrive and then almost
immediately return, he said.
Andrew Owens, chief executive of Greenergy, a biofuel supplier part-
owned by Tesco, said his company was doing all it could to eliminate
the rogue practice. "We are rigorous about our supply chain and
careful about where we source bioethanol and biodiesel, but it can
always sneak in if we have to buy a one-off cargo in Rotterdam to fill
a gap ... We try and avoid splash and dash at all costs," he said.
The European Biodiesel Board has been encouraged to act against
subsidised US exports of biofuel because Britain and other European
countries have complained that their industries are being destroyed.
Producers are concerned the US is flooding the market with subsidised
fuel when facilities are standing empty in Germany. D1 Oils, a
Teesside-based biofuel business, is considering halving its workforce
due to the problems caused by US imports.
A competitor, Biofuels Corporation, was taken off the stock market
after suffering its own problems, but BP said it was pressing ahead
with a biobutanol plant at Hull in cooperation with Associated British
Foods.
In a fortnight Britain will introduce demands that 2.5% of all petrol
and diesel is made up of non-carbon fuels. The rules will require
companies to provide information about sourcing their biodiesel,
potentially cutting out splash and dash.
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For the full story of the biofuel disaster, see
http://home.att.net/~meditation/bio-fuel-hoax.html
Christopher Calder
Look it up...
