More information on Conservo

Since the story was first published, we’ve had a lot of interest in Melbourne’s Conservo petrol station. Conservo markets itself as a “green” service station, offering biofuel blends and organic products. For people looking to find it and take a look for themselves, the service station is located in High St, Prahran, near Swinburne University. Read on for more details of what it offers and some photographs.

Analysis: Australia’s future fuel

If you’ll indulge me for a moment, I’d like to take the opportunity to step back from each individual step that we’ve been focusing on here to take a look at the broader perspective.

In 2005, Australia consumed:

- 18,712 million litres of petrol (15,856 ML of which was used in passenger vehicles)
- 8690 million litres of diesel fuel (5,636 ML of which was used in rigid or articulated trucks)
- 1564 million litres of LPG/CNG fuel

Current indicators are that fossil fuel use has increased in the 18 months since this data was recorded; alternative fuel use in transport was not significant enough to appear with these statistics at the time. In terms of fuel production:

- Non-renewable fuel production has increased 446% in the last 30 years
- Renewable fuel has increased 28% in the same period

Clearly these are not the markers of a country that has embraced alternative and renewable fuels, as much of the world is doing. This is both a weakness and an opportunity for us: although we have so far given up the chance to be a world leader in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, we have been able to observe a very rapidly maturing field of fossil fuel replacements and make a sensible decision about which is best for the Australian environment. If you’re interested in knowing who the primary contenders are, read on.

Expert calls for Australian peak oil study

Visiting US peak oil expert Dr Roger Bedzek is calling on the Australian government to immediately study the effects that peak oil would have on Australia. The former White House consultant is in Australia to give a series of lectures on the theory of peak oil, which states that oil production rates will soon reach or has already reached its highest point. He suggested that Iran’s recent controversy regarding its domestic fuel restrictions highlight the effect that a drop in oil production may have.

“The problem is we’re so tightly stretched now there’s no slack in the system, so even minor perturbations in the system, such as reduced output from Iran, affects the entire world.”

To counter this potential problem, Dr Bedzek is calling on Australia to investigate “possible, aggressive actions on both its supply side and on the demand side”, including energy effeciency measures in transport and alternative fuels including biofuels, hybrids and liquid fuel from coal, as soon as possible to mitigate the effects that peak oil might have.

“It’s going to take a long time, in terms of changing development patterns, running rail and light rail systems, mass-transit systems out to the suburbs and that,” he said.

“If you don’t try to take these kind of mitigation options starting immediately, the ultimate cost to Australia will be many billions more than that [the investment in making the changes].”

(Sources: ABC News, NineMSN)

Green service station opens in Victoria

Following on from our last post on algae biodiesel trials in Victoria, a separate company has opened up the state’s first “green” service station, selling only biofuel-blended fuel. Conservo, located in Prahran in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, sells ethanol-blended petrol, such as E10, as well as biodiesel made from canola and tallow. The business also sells a variety of other eco-friendly products in-store, ranging from organic coffee to solar powered laptop bags. Conservo hopes to be using Energetix’s algae biodiesel when it’s available in two years.

Source and image credit: ABC News

Algae biodiesel trials underway in Australia

Victoria’s Hazelwood coal power station, not exactly known for its clean environmental record, is the site of a trial for a new form of biodiesel. Biofuel company Energetix is testing some US-based technology there that allows them to produce biodiesel from algae, rather than the traditional canola or soybean crops. Algae biodiesel has a far higher yield per hectare than traditional crops, with much higher energy returns, but is still in the experimental stages. The algae feeds on carbon dioxide from the power plant. Energetix’s managing director, Mile Soda, says the initial results have been encouraging.

“What we’ve been able to successfully do is take the liquid, or the oil, and have our partners in the United States turn that oil into biodiesel,” he said.

Biodiesel from conventional sources is already available in limited areas in Australia, but Energetix hopes to see algal biodiesel in production within two years.

Source: ABC News

Have your say on a mandatory biofuels target

The Victorian government’s Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee is currently accepting submissions regarding their inquiry on mandatory ethanol and biofuels targets for the state. All members of the public are welcome to make a submission to the inquiry to give their thoughts on the possibility of mandating the use of biofuels in Victoria and its impact on the transport and fuels industry. Take a look at the EDIC website for details and suggestions on how to prepare a submission.