By Cameron Weston
HOBSONS Bay City Council will use environmentally friendly biofuels and biofuel blends in its vehicles in an effort to reduce its environmental footprint and save money.
The council resolved at its ordinary meeting on 25 July to convert its truck fleet to a mix of diesel and biodiesel fuel, start a trial of “pure biodiesel in selected depot vehicles” and use a blend of petrol and ethanol in other council vehicles.
The council also resolved to “endeavour to attract a biodiesel distributor or manufacturer to Hobsons Bay”, to potentially use land zoned for petrochemical use in the municipality.
Biofuels are made from organic matter, or biomass, and include ethanol derived from maize, wheat, sorghum and sugar cane, or biodiesel, which is made from canola, used cooking oil and fats and oils from animals, like beef tallow, a form of hard animal fat.
Councillor Peter Hemphill, who led the push to convert to biofuels, said there were many benefits to be gained through switching from fossil fuels or using fuel blends.
There were obvious health benefits, he said, but switching to biofuels would also reduce reliance on increasingly scarce oil reserves and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Cr Hemphill said that the council would also use its ties to rural Buloke Shire, in north western Victoria, to access biofuels made from various crops grown in the area.
“All the ingredients are just sitting there waiting to be tapped into and some discussions have already been made with industry representatives.
“The push for this is huge at the moment. In the last six months I’ve seen major enthusiasm for (the widespread use of biofuels) in many places around Australia.”
Cr Hemphill said he had built a detailed knowledge biofuels, and had met many people who produce or use the fuels on a daily basis.
He said this experience had given him the chance to see biofuels actually delivering benefits to users and the environment, and he was able to utilise his contacts as the council became interested in using biofuels.
A Federal Government taskforce last year found that using biofuels would result in improved urban air quality giving improved public health, reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, assisting the Australian economy generally, “either through import substitution or kick-starting a new industry and improved energy security”.
However, the taskforce concluded that government policy would need to be radically overhauled for biofuels to be a viable option in the long term.
