Bioenergy Association welcomes Z Energy as gold member

Bioenergy Association welcomes Z Energy as gold member

The Bioenergy Association today welcomed Z Energy joining the Association as a gold member.

Brian Cox, Executive Director of Bioenergy Association, said Z was currently putting the finishing touches on the most significant biofuel production facility ever seen in New Zealand and he welcomed Z’s strong support for the Association.

“Z’s $26 million biodiesel plant at Wiri will start producing up to 20 million litres of B100 biodiesel from June of this year. Initially starting to supply the Auckland / Waikato / Bay of Plenty regions, this plant will start to give diesel motorists the choice to use a more sustainable transport fuel.”

Brian Cox said he was particularly pleased to have Z on board given their leadership in the biofuels space.

“In the current low oil price environment the economics of biofuels are challenging and New Zealand continues to lag well behind the rest of the world in terms of biofuel production and use.

“At the same time New Zealand has signed up to meaningful reductions in climate changing emissions and, with transport fuels making up approximately 17 per cent of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions, biofuels have the capacity to deliver meaningful and relatively swift reductions in New Zealand’s transport emissions.

“Z’s biodiesel plant is the first commercial-scale biodiesel plant in New Zealand. It will produce high quality biodiesel and we would now like to see consistency of policy settings such that all renewable transport fuels – be that ethanol, biodiesel or electricity – are treated equally in order to deliver the biggest benefits for New Zealand,” he said

“The Government is renewing the Emissions Trading Scheme and this is an opportunity to consider the additional measures which support businesses such as Z to make these bold leadership investment decisions.”

Background
The Bioenergy Association:
• Mission Statement is “to promote the maximum utilisation of all forms of sustainable bioenergy in New Zealand”.
• Vision is that “Bioenergy in all its forms will supply more than 25% of the country’s energy needs, including 30% of the country’s transport fuels by around 2040.”
www.bioenergy.org.nz

ENDS

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