NSW proposes to boost ethanol blends

A legislation that will boost the ethanol blend in gasoline in Australia’s New South Wales from 2% to 6% is now being considered by the state parliament. The proposed Section 6 of the Biofuel (ethanol content) Amendment Bill 2009 indicates that a primary wholesaler of petrol must ensure that the volume of ethanol sold in the form of petrol-ethanol blend during a certain period is not less than 2% of the volume of all petrol sold within that period. An increase of 4% from the beginning of 2010 will be required and will go up again to 6% from the beginning of 2011. The proposed biofuels legislation, NSW Lands Minister Tony Kelly said, would help create jobs in regional areas by establishing a fuel industry reliant on locally produced biofuels. (March 13, 2009)