Federal Industry Minister, Ian Macfarlane, announced details of the two projects, one ethanol and the other biodiesel, while visiting the Lemon Tree Ethanol project in Millmerran, Queensland.
“These one-off capital grants will help build the emerging biofuels industry, providing motorists with choices and regional areas with new opportunities, as the country moves towards the Australian Government’s target of 350 million litres of biofuels by 2010,” Macfarlane said.
“The funding announced through the two rounds of this program will increase Australia’s production of ethanol ten-fold by 2006 and our biodiesel production from less than 5 million litres a year to more than 100 million litres annually.”
The successful applicants are Riverina Biofuels Pty Ltd, a biodiesel plant at Deniliquin NSW which received $7.15m, and Lemon Tree Ethanol Pty Ltd, an ethanol-froim-grains plant at Millmerran, Queensland $5.85m.
Of the 23 applications received, 12 were biodiesel-based and 11 were ethanol-based. The one-off capital grants have been granted to projects that were competitively judged by Invest Australia to be the best prepared for commercial operation, according to Macfarlane.
The plants are in the electorates of the National Party’s Bruce Scott (Maranoa, Queensland) and the Liberal Party’s Sussan Ley (Farrer, NSW).
Renewable Fuels Australia executive director Bob Gordon said the emerging renewable fuels industry was grateful for the funding announcements but was disappointed the potential benefits for Australia had not been fully recognised.
He claimed round two had fallen short of the potential benefits that renewable fuels could deliver to Australia.
"As many potential industry entrants feared, the failure by the government to meet its 2001 election and subsequent Budget promise of $50 million for the scheme, stripping $13 million from the scheme, has meant only a small number of the 11 to 12 projects that met the grant scheme criteria have been selected for funding," Mr Gordon said in a statement.
"By sitting on their hands, or offering the prospect of undertaking further biofuels trials to a selected few projects, the major oil companies have again been allowed to exercise de facto power over the size and pace of growth of a domestic renewable fuels industry in Australia.
"Under these circumstances, it is inevitable that the national interest, fair market trading and the regulated use of cleaner renewable transport fuels will remain agenda issues in 2005."
