The taskforce will initially examine the findings of several scientific studies into ethanol, including the 2003 CSIRO/ABARE/BTRE 350 million litre biofuels target study, the Department of Environment study into E10 and E20, and studies looking at the effects of integrating biofuel oxygenates into fossil fuels and the economic impacts other nations have experienced introducing biofuel targets.

Their findings will be reported to the Government by July 2005 and will provide an information base for future federal actions on the introduction of biofuels.

The taskforce comprises: Dr Conall O’Connell, deputy secretary of environment and heritage; Dr David Brockway, chief of CSIRO’s energy technology division; Dr John Keniry, chairman of Ridley Corporation; and Max Gillard, chief operating officer of Toyota Technical Centre Australia Pacific.

The taskforce will be supported by a small government secretariat to aid research.

The announcement of the taskforce comes after the release of a CSIRO study showing the annual reduction in greenhouse emissions from the construction of a single ethanol plant would be equal to the removal of 70,000 cars from Australian roads, each litre of ethanol being equal to a 2.5kg reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

“Ethanol is a clean green fuel that increases the octane of petrol when blended and is processed locally from Australian grown grains and sugar cane,” said Primary Energy chairman Ian Kiernan.

“While the rest of the world forges ahead with the adoption of renewable fuels as part of their mainstream fuel mix, Australia lags well behind.”