Macquarie Oil to construct 1.3 Mgy poppy seed biodiesel plant in Tasmania

In Australia, Macquarie Oil Company has commenced construction of a 1.3 Mgy biodiesel plant in Cressy, Tasmania. The plant will be the first in Tasmania, and will use poppy seeds, mustard, and linseed as feedstock. The use of exotic feedstocks, instead of commodities such as palm or canola oil which have become prohibitively expensive, are key to making the plant commercially viable.

The new plant is BioWorks announced it will produce 800,000 gallons of biodiesel from Indian mustard, canola, tallow and palm oil. The Indian mustard crop is being grown at nine farms in Pingelly, Western Australia which have converted from canola cultivation owing to mustard’s better yields in drier areas.

In Australia, the last operating biodiesel plants in operation had closed down in early November due to excessive feedstock costs and low biodiesel prices.

“We need government support in the form of consideration of possible imposition of mandates for the use of biodiesel, we need governments to step up and recognise the benefits obtained for people and the environment and instead of using fossil fuels alone to recognise that biodiesel needs a market of its own,” said Australian Renewable Fuels’ General manager Max Ger.

Meanwhile, biofuels production has become increasingly controversial in Australia. The state of Victoria’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee, found the costs of developing biofuels could outweigh the benefits, and recommended that the state defer a decision to impose an ethanol blending mandate until 2013. Feedstock availability, and the potential to increase pressure on food prices, were cited as chief concerns of the panel.

A researcher at CSIRO, the national science agency, has warned Australian state governments against imposing ethanol mandates. The warning followed the imposition of an E2 mandate by New South Wales, scheduled to increase to E10 in 2011. David Lamb said that mandates in the US have encouraged heavy investment in ethanol, and he attributed the food shortage in Mexico and the doubling of the price of tortillas as a consequence.

A biodiesel plant in Port Botany was opposed by the Green Party for proposing the use of Indonesian and Malaysian palm oil. However, the Queensland government has approved a 40 Mgy biodiesel plant that will be constructed at Mackay; the plant will be operated by the Mackay Port Authority and begin production in 2008.Yahoo recently conducted an online poll regarding Australian policy on climate change. 31 percent said that the country should put the climate first and the economy second; 53 percent the country should balance climate change action with the needs of the economy, and 10 percent said the country should put the economy first and climate second. 6 percent said the country should take no action.

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