Australia: Biofuels Annual 2017
The Australian biofuel industry and market remain small because mandates do not cover the entire country and remain modest compared to other countries with biofuel programs, and tax relief alone has not boosted biofuel use. With minimal mandate support, biodiesel production and imports have collapsed since 2014 due to lower world crude oil prices and high feedstock prices. Total biofuel production for 2017 is estimated at 290 million liters (ML), comprised of 250 million ML of fuel ethanol and a sharply reduced 40 million ML of biodiesel. Production of fuel ethanol has declined less (just over 15 percent since 2013) because of its value as an oxygenate in gasoline, and it is supported by a mandate in New South Wales (NSW) and a new 2017 mandate in Queensland. Second-generation biofuels, such as energy crops and algae-based fuels, have been successfully tested but are not yet commercially viable. However, the Queensland government has provided support for an advanced biofuels plant to produce fuel for military, aviation and marine applications.
