Allied Biodiesel Industries (UK)

The Trade Organisation for the Smaller Producer

Bandwagon, here we come!

Since the tax break for biodiesel was granted in 2002, there have been hundreds (five, to be exact) of registrations with HM Customs & Excise as biodiesel producers.  More recent figures show that 200 have dropped out, a hundred or so are making for themselves as a hobby and the same number again are being re-classified as substitute fuels producers, not entitled to the tax break.  This leaves around a hundred supplying others as a commercial enterprise, including some whose output is in the tens of thousands of tonnes a year.

The production capacity in the UK, as at January 2006, was around 50,000 tonnes per annum, requiring the supply of over 50,000 tonnes of used cooking oil - no other feedstock is currently economically viable.  The problem is, the amount of UCO available in the UK is estimated (by the DTI) at only 80,000 tonnes per annum.

With expansion plans and new plant already being constructed taken into account, this capacity will be reached by mid-summer of 2006.

It is therefore not advisable to start planning a new construction without first establishing a 100% guaranteed supply of feedstock.  Failure to do so will result in either market distortion - the UCO price will go up and therefore profitability will go down - or business failures.  Lack of production experience and therefore expertise, though, is the most common reason for failures - it is not as easy as the process may appear, as the web chat room pages verify!  If the fuel does not meet the EN14214 standard, it could prove a liability in claims for damaged engines.

In addition, legislation means that new starts will require a Prevention of Pollution and Control (PPC) Permit for all those intending to make outside of their own home or for commercial supply, costing a great deal of time and money to apply for.  The Environment Agency is charged with enforcement, and they are taking their responsibilities seriously.  You may even have to sink boreholes to prove that your land is not contaminated before you start!

In the meantime, there have been offers of equipment by various companies - in the main, strongly criticised as being over-priced and under-resourced.  For the record, you can make up your own hobby kit for under £500, but the temptation is there to do it the easy, one-stop way.  Caveat emptor.  Useful amateur sites - run by very experienced biodieselers - are www.mauigreenenergy.org and www.journeytoforever.org

The introduction of the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation planned for 2008 will make it economically possible to produce biodiesel from virgin oils, for bulk distribution to obligated road fuel suppliers.