The entire British – incuding the Scottish – biofuels industry is threatened by a mistake made by UK Government lawyers in drafting biofuels legislation. The error is so serious is could bring about the end of the UK’s alternative fuels sector.

Officials of the Department for Transport, led by Geoff Hoon are meeting this week with biofuels industry representatives to explain the mess. Mr Hoon is Secretary of State for Transport and was Secretary of State for Defence when Britain was taken into the current war with Iraq

What has happened is the omission from the new law of the current requirement for oil firms to include 2.5% of biofuels in their fuel mix for supply to motorists. If they don’t have to do it, they won’t do it. Eighteen oil companies are  now set to save millions of pounds in taking advantage of the unexpected loophole.

Biofuels producers warn that this drafting error is likley to see many of the UK’s alternative fuel producers go to the wall in the coming months, given the current recession and the credit squeeze.

This is bad news for existing Scottish companies like Agomass.

It is also a blow for Argyll, in undermining new research in to marine-sourced biofuels by the Scottish Association of Marine Sciences at Dunstaffnage., outside Oban.

Terry de Winne, Head of Allied Biodiesel Industries, the sector trade body, says: ‘This error effectively renders the UK biofuels industry redundant until April 2009. It could completely destroy what little remains of the UK biodiesel industry by the end of the year.’

It means that companies producing biofuels – biodiesel and bioethanol, for a known market and a known volume of 2.5%  of vehicle fuel oil sales in the UK have seen the reason for their existence wiped out in Whitehall offices.

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