Biodiesel plant in Queenstown
Here’s the breaking news from TVNZ…
And this is what the Otago Times had said about it a few days earlier…
New Zealand’s first biodiesel refuelling facility will be launched in Queenstown next week.
The Queenstown Lakes Biodiesel Consortium is the first of its kind in New Zealand and provides access to a supply of B20 blended biodiesel for commercial vehicles.
The consortium has been set up by the Otago Polytechnic’s Centre for Sustainable Practice, with funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s biodiesel grant scheme.
The polytechnic’s sustainable tourism adviser, Sharon Schindler, said the long-term aim was to introduce the commercial use of biodiesel in Otago and Southland.
“The aim of the consortium is to run a pilot for New Zealand-made biodiesel . . . to help increase the uptake of biodiesel through enabling more fuel self-sufficiency, long-term supply and price security,” she said.
The centre would bring together potential biodiesel users to create a “sizeable hub” and broker a commercial supply contract. It needed to get sufficient volumes to enable supply at a price close to mineral diesel, she said.
“The reason for first choosing the Queenstown area for this initiative is because of the strong support offered by the local businesses, and [the] high-profile nature of the target users, mainly operators working with tourists from overseas.”
New courses coming soon
I can’t say much yet, but one of the reasons for this blog being set up, is to serve as a means for getting the word out and sharing information about a number of new sustainability courses.
Watch this space!
