Special Feature
This is a video report about
World Business: A couple of
years ago, with surging
demand for biofuel from
Europe and riding crude oil
prices, investors rushed to
build plants to turn palm oil
into biodiesel. But with
falling oil prices and
changing opinions towards
biofuel many of those
projects were put on hold.
To adapt, biofuel producers
now have to be a little more
creative.
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Biodiesel in Germany |
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Currently, Germany is the largest producer of biodiesel in the EU (50%), followed by France and Italy. |
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There are more than 20 biodiesel plants in Germany, with a total capacity of more than 1 million tonnes per year. It is projected that the capacity will exceed 2.0 million tonnes by the end of 2006. |
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German Biodisel Production (1995 - 2004) |
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German Biodisel Production (2006 Projected) |
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In Germany, biodiesel is still enjoying gull detaxation, as the German law defines that mineral-oil taxation applies only to minieral-oil based fuels. This has given a significant price advantage to biodiesel. |
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Biodiesel is also exempted from Eco-tax (which is imposed from April 1999 onwards), as it is a greehouse gas saving product. |
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There is no restrictive quota in Germany as well, and hence there is no upper limit for biodisel production. |
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However, only the 100% pure Biodiesel is given tax exemption. As at year 2003, about 30% of these pure biodiesel was sold at 1700 pulic filling stations while the remaining 70% were sold through major customers, e.g., truck fleets, public transport fleets, taxi companies etc. |
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