Ottawa shuts down biofuels subsidy program

In Canada, Ottawa’s government is formally shutting down the biofuels subsidy program that will have provided more than CAD $1.5B in subsidies to grain-based ethanol and biodiesel producers across the country. The letter announcing the decision cited the lack of production as the reason for the cuts: Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said that the industry “has not been able to produce and sell the large quantities of fuel that were forecasted.” The program had stopped accepting applications in 2010, but recent developments in plant-building have prompted industry leaders to pressure the government to continue the program.

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