Global warming sends chill wind
Z has struggled for nearly three years to get its Wiri plant producing biodiesel for trucks running on a commercial scale.
The complexity of building the plant from scratch rather than off the shelf meant it was late last year before it began supplying Fonterra with small quantities of tallowderived fuel. Getting the fuel specifications right for planes will be far more exacting; at 35,000 feet there is no margin for error.
Sheena Thomas, Z Energy’s fuel strategy manager, says aviation biofuel would probably come from woody waste — initially the byproduct of forestry processing and, if adopted on a wide scale, from specially grown forests on marginal land. This would provide opportunities for growth in the regions.
She says a ‘‘national conversation’’is needed — in other words, government support — to get this off the ground.
In its sustainability report, Air NZ says there is a lack of clear policy incentives to take the plunge into fullscale jet biofuel.
‘‘The capital investment would be significant and it has not been achieved anywhere in the world without substantial government support to establish production and thereafter ensure fuel pricing remains viable.’’
Across the Tasman, Virgin Australia is also pushing for government support.
The airline has done some research with Air New Zealand but as that alliance ended, so has that work.
Since that announcement, the Australian airline has been operating biofuel flights in partnership with USbased biofuel producer Gevo and supply chain partners Caltex and DB Schenker for a year, with the Queensland government and Brisbane Airport.
By the end of the trial, more than 700 flights had flown more than 1 million kilometres using the sustainable aviation fuel mix.
This project has been an important step in ensuring Australian airports and the fuel supply chain will be ready for the regular supply of sustainable fuels in Australia.
‘‘However, in order to enable lowcarbon sustainable aviation fuels to succeed, they must be able to compete on price. Government support will be needed to develop a thriving, local industry,’’ the airline says.
Alarm about ‘‘food miles’’ was the big scare for our primary exporters a decade ago.
There was a push by environmentalists (and European farmers) to shun products shipped halfway around the world and to buy local instead.
In a presocial media world, this had a negligible impact on exporters but the current concern about pollution from air travel has the potential to develop into something much more significant for this country. — The New Zealand Herald