Holly Cairns
Question:171. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the steps he is taking to promote the use of HVO as a diesel alternative. [33259/23]
View answerThursday, 6 July 2023
Questions (171)
Written answers
Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) is a bioliquid which can be used as a renewable energy, and which in a transport context, is classified as a biofuel.
The Climate Action Plan 2023 includes a range of measures to address the use of fossil fuel in heating systems in building. The National Heat Study contains the detailed analysis that is informing the development of options, policies, and measures to decarbonise the heating and cooling sectors to 2050. The Study considered a number of potential decarbonisation options for a wide range of dwelling and business types. This included the use of liquid biofuels, solid biomass, biogases, and other technologies such as heat pumps and district heating networks.
The recommendation of the Heat Study is that heat pumps are the optimal decarbonisation path for domestic heating systems, with district heating also being a competitive option that can be widely deployed. Therefore, no steps are being taken at this time to promote the use of HVO in the heat sector.
Supporting the supply of renewable energy in transport, the Renewable Transport Fuel Policy sets out the pathway to incentivise supply of renewable transport fuel through annual increases in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) rate to 2030 and the achievement of both Climate Action Plan targets and European obligations concerning sustainability and GHG reduction criteria. The Minister for Transport published the updated Renewable Transport Fuel Policy Statement 2023-2025 on 28 June 2023. The updated policy continues to provide a framework for ongoing consultation, analysis and review towards meeting targets set out in the Climate Action Plan 2023 and European obligations for renewable energy supply for use in transport. The renewable transport fuel policy is reviewed every two years.
The policy since 2010 has been to increase renewable energy in transport by pursuing progressive increases in the renewable transport fuel supply obligation (RTFO) on fuel suppliers, as provided for under Part 5A of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007.
The trajectory of annual RTFO rate increases to 2030 as set out in the policy is designed to achieve the CAP target of an E10 (10% Ethanol) and B20 (20% Biodiesel) equivalent. This is to achieve 1.08MT CO2eq carbon reduction by 2030, representing a significant portion (almost 14%) of the planned transport sector decarbonisation by 2030.
The supply of HVO in transport, among other renewable fuels, will be critical in ensuring the 2030 Climate Action Plan target is met. A Biofuels Study Report conducted on behalf of the Department of Transport in 2022 estimated that between 570-730m litres of biodiesel/HVO could be required to meet the Climate Action Plan transport targets by 2030.
Additionally, the Minister for Transport made regulations in under section 44G of the 2007 Act authorising the National Oil Reserves Agency (NORA) to issue additional renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO) certificates targeting supply of specific renewable transport fuels, including HVO, Tallow Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME), Biomethane, and Green Hydrogen used in transport sectors to further incentivise supply.
With regard to challenges associated with the policy of incentivising increased biofuel supply, in particular concerning future availability and meeting EU sustainability requirements, the Department of Transport is establishing working groups, which will include stakeholder representatives, to work through these challenges. For example, used cooking oil (UCO), the main feedstock for HVO, is a limited resource and additional demand for it across many sectors will impact on its cost and may heighten the risk of fuel fraud in global supply chains.
To combat risks such as this the EU has introduced more rigorous verification requirements including an EU database for all biofuel supply. In this regard, my department and the Department of Transport engage with the European Commission on an ongoing basis, including through the working group on sustainability, set up under the European Renewable Energy Directive.