DfT publishes RTFO Guidance following RED implementation
Wed 08 February 2012
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The Government has published Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) Guidance covering the period from the implementation of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) on December 15, 2011 to the end of the obligation year on April 14.
The RTFO Guidance has been published on the Department for Transport’s website, along with the Government response to the consultation on the guidance.
Full details of the Guidance for suppliers is available on the DfT website, biofuels section.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) Order is the principle legislation for the regulation of biofuels used for transport in the UK. It obligates fossil fuel suppliers to produce evidence showing that a percentage of fuels for road transport supplied in the UK come from renewable sources and that they are sustainable. All fuel suppliers who supply at least 450,000 litres of fuel a year are obligated. This includes suppliers of biofuels as well as suppliers of fossil fuel.
The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership established the original environmental and sustainability reporting standards for biofuels supplied to the UK market.
In December 2011, the RTFO Order was amended to implement the sustainability criteria of the RED. This introduced mandatory sustainability criteria which biofuels must meet for those fuels to be eligible for Renewable Transport Fuel Certificates. Biofuels that do not meet these criteria are considered fossil fuels for the purposes of the Order and accrue an obligation to supply sustainable biofuels in the same manner.
Meanwhile, the UK biofuels industry has stepped up calls for a biofuels target to 2020, citing concerns that the UK could risk losing the benefits of having a home-grown biofuels industry. The call came from the Renewable Energy Association as MPs on the Energy and Climate Change Committee heard evidence on the sustainability of UK biofuels.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change is expected to publish its Bioenergy Strategy shortly.
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