Guidance note on Biofuels Scheme 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Relating to Biofuels Scheme II 

Press Release

The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources received 102 applications in the biofuels MOT Relief Scheme II. There were 11 applications received in the Bioethanol category, 36 in the EN590 category, 18 in the Pure Plant Oil category and 37 in the Captive Fleets Category. A panel comprising officials from DCMNR, Sustainable Energy Ireland and Enterprise Ireland assessed the applications and made recommendations to the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. On 23rd November 2006 Minister Dempsey announced that sixteen biofuels projects were to be granted excise relief under the Scheme. The successful projects are as follows:-

Category	Company	Volume Awarded for period 2006 - 2010
Bioethanol	Cooley-Clearpower 162 Clontarf Road, Dublin 3	54.38m litres
Bioethanol	Maxol Ltd 3 Custom House Plaza, IFSC, Dublin 1	42.15m litres
Bioethanol	One Fifty One Ltd 151 Thomas Street, Dublin 8	176.07m litres
Bioethnol	Topaz Energy Ltd Topaz House, Beechill Office Campus, Clonskeagh, Dublin 4	33.4m litres
EN590	Conoco Phillips Whitegate Refinery Ltd Whitegate, Midleton, Co Cork	93m litres
EN590	Biodiesel Production Ireland/Topaz Energy Limited Beech Hill Office Park, Clonskeagh, Dublin 4	68m litres
EN590	Green Biofuels Ireland Ltd Blackstoops, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford	32m litres
EN590	Irish Food Processors Ltd 14 Castle Street, Ardee, Co Louth	97m litres
Pure Plant Oil	Biogreen Energy Products Ltd The Leap, Adamstown, Co Wexford	7m litres
Pure Plant Oil	Eilish Oils Ltd Kilmurry, Newtownmountkennedy, Co Wicklow	7m litres
Pure Plant Oil	Goldstar Oils Ltd Oldcourt, Inistioge, Co Kilkenny	7m litres
Captive Fleets	Greyhound Recycling and Recovery Ltd Knockmitten Lane, Western Industrial Estate, Dublin 12	21.68m litres
Captive Fleets	Emo Oil Ltd Clonminam Industrial Estate, Portlaoise, Co Laoise	9.65m litres
Captive Fleets	EcoOla Innovation in Business Centre, Galway Mayo Institute of Technology, Dublin Road, Galway	9.3m litres
Captive Fleets	Eco Fuels Ltd Crohane, Fossa, Killarney, Co Kerry	6.4m litres
Captive Fleets	Bord na Mona plc Main Street, Newbridge, Co Kildare	0.58m litre

When at full capacity in 2008, the  Scheme will result in  2% market penetration of biofuels in the transport fuel market. It will result in savings of over 1.2m tonnes of polluting CO2 over the five years of the programme. In terms of eliminating pollution this is the equivalent of taking around 70,000 cars per year off the road over the lifetime of the scheme, and is one of the more significant measures being taken by Government to reduce CO2 emissions as part of its Kyoto commitments.


PROJECT DETAILS AS PROVIDED BY SUCCESFUL APPLICANTS


Bioethanol Projects

AER Limited (Cooley-Clearpower)

AER is a renewable energy company that has brought together the expertise and resources of Cooley Distillery and Clearpower to specialise in the biofuels industry. Cooley took over the national ethanol-for-fuel production facility in 1987 and has continued to produce bioethanol as a beverage since then. Today, Cooley Distillery is the only independent Irish owned whiskey distillery in Ireland. Cooley produces bioethanol from grain and maize and also imports ethanol for the pharmaceutical industry in Ireland. Clearpower Ltd is a renewable energy company specialising in biomass production, consulting and energy supply. AER plans to source bioethanol through expanded production at the existing production facility in Cooley and through international trading companies.

Contact details: John Travers, CEO AER Limited
Tel: +353 1 833 2833
Fax: +353 1 833 3505

Maxol Ltd

Maxol Ltd was awarded excise relief for 2m litres of bioethanol under the pilot scheme in 2005. The project involved the production of ethanol by the Carbery Group, Cork, using whey. 85% ethanol blends (E85) are currently being sold at twenty locations in Ireland (including Clare, Cork (3),  Dublin (5), Kildare, Limerick, Louth (2), Meath, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford (2), and Wicklow (2)) and 5% blends (E5) are being sold at 85 service stations in the North East. Maxol  intends to extend its distribution network to sell E85 in a minimum of 25 of its service stations and E5 in all of its 220 service stations, a number of authorised distribution stations and to its commercial customer base. The ethanol will continue to be sourced from the Carbery Group in Cork. For details of the locations of E85 pumps see www.maxol.ie

Contact details: 
Phone No: + 353 1 607 6800
email post@maxol.ie

One51

One51 plc is based in Dublin and its business is focused on the niche segments of the infrastructure, recycling, energy and related markets.  One51 plc was incorporated as part of a reconstruction and reorganisation process of the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society (“the Society”). The company commenced trading in December 2005. Since its incorporation One51 plc has grown significantly though a number of acquisitions and partnerships.  In addition to the Group’s existing waste, infrastructure and property interests, One51 owns a 25.52% shareholding in NTR Plc (with interests in infrastructure, waste management and renewable energy) and a 26.89% shareholding in Augean Plc (a leading UK specialist hazardous waste operator).

One51 plc plans to initially import bioethanol to supply and develop the market for Biofuels within Ireland. The Company’s long term aim is to build a Bioethanol plant in Ireland using a combination of wheat & barley as its feedstock. 

Contact Details : Shane Lombard, Business Development
Email shane.lombard@one51.com 
Tel + 353 1 6121253/

Topaz Energy Ltd.

Topaz Energy Ltd is one of the main suppliers of transport fuels in Ireland with 35 – 40% market share. It stores and processes its petrol products at key import terminals in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick and it has a network of 350 service stations nationwide. The company plans to import bioethanol initially and has indicated that it intends to support the development of an Irish biofuels sector by entering into supply agreements with Irish manufacturers, once Irish production comes on stream.

Contact details: Alan McLean, Director, Business Development & Corporate Affairs
Email alan.mclean@topazenergy.ie
Phone: + 353 1 202 8802

EN590 Projects

Conoco Phillips, Whitegate Refinery

Conoco Phillips is the fourth largest oil refiner in the world and owns Ireland’s only refinery, at Whitegate, Cork. From here it supplies over one third of the Irish transport fuel market, involving major oil distributors and smaller re-sellers. The company received excise relief under the 2005 pilot scheme and carried out a pilot production of 1m litres of biofuels. The process uses standard refinery procedures in an innovative process to convert oils and animal fats into diesel without requiring the separate production of biodiesel and subsequent blending. Conoco Phillips is now commercialising this pilot process using plant oils and potentially tallow.

Contact details: Liam Foley
Phone No: + 353 21 4622366 
liam.foley@conocophillips.com


(Topaz Energy Ltd) and Biodiesel Production Ireland Ltd.

Topaz Energy Ltd is one of the main suppliers of transport fuels in Ireland with 35 – 40% market share. It stores and processes its diesel and petrol products at key import terminals in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. It has a network of 350 service stations nationwide. This project proposes to establish a biodiesel production facility at Greenore Port, Co Louth, utilizing one of Topaz’s existing warehouse and fuel depots for tank and storage sites. Biodiesel will be made from plant oils and RVO. The company’s “waste for fuel” RVO collection programme will form part of the feedstock supply chain. In order to support the speedy introduction of biofuels into the market Topaz may initially import biodiesel.

Contact details: Alan McLean, Director, Business Development & Corporate Affairs
e mail alan.mclean@topazenergy.ie

Office +353 1 202 8802
Fax +353 1 2838312

Green Biofuels Ireland

Green Biofuels Ireland Ltd was incorporated to establish a biodiesel facility in New Ross, Wexford and construction of this facility has commenced.  The biodiesel will be made from Recovered Vegetable Oil (RVO), tallow and oil seed rape, the majority of which will be supplied principally by Wexford Farmer’s Co-op (which has 4,000 farmer shareholders). The company intends to distribute the biodiesel through existing fuel distribution companies and through Wexford Farmer’s Co-op’s existing oil distribution business.

Contact details: Joe O’Byrne
Phone No. Office:  + 353 53 9233606
Email: joebyrne@wfc.ie

Irish Food Processors

Irish Food Processors is the largest beef processing company in Ireland and the UK. This project aims to construct a multi-feedstock biodiesel facility coupled with an oilseed rape crushing facility. Feedstocks include tallow from IFP’s meat and rendering plants, RVO from IFP collection and refining centres and oilseed rape from the proposed pressing facility.

Contact details: Robert Behan,
Phone No. Office:  + 353 41-6850200
Email: info@agrienergy.ie

Pure Plant Oil (PPO) Projects

Biogreen

Biogreen is a Wexford based company and was awarded excise relief under the pilot scheme in 2005. Under the existing proposal the company will continue to sell from its premises in Adamstown and through is affiliation with a second company which sells biofuels from a retail outlet in the Cork / Limerick region.

Contact details: Emma Barron, Anthony Mc Carthy & Anthony Browne                            
Tel: + 353 53 9240490
E-mail: biogreen@eircom.net
Web : www.rapoleum.com

 Eilish Oils

Eilish Oils is a Wicklow based company and was awarded excise relief under the pilot scheme in 2005. Glanbia acquired a majority shareholding in Eilish Oils in 2006 and proposes to expand Eilish Oil’s activities by providing oilseed rape from Glanbia’s network of farmers. It is proposed to use the PPO fuel in Glanbia’s fleet of vehicles, and to sell it to other users through Glanbia’s branch network.

Contact details: Mr Eugene Woodbyrne
Phone: + 353 53-9244204
Email: ewoodbyrne@glanbia.ie


Goldstar Oils

Goldstar Oils Ltd , which is based in Kilkenny, manufactures vegetable oil blends for the animal feed business. The company intends to diversify its business into the production of PPO for use in identified fleets related to Goldstar’s business including its own transport fleet and associated companies’ fleets. The company intends to source its feedstocks through existing Irish and International companies with whom it has current trading relationships.

Contact: William Deevy
Phone: + 353 56 7758200
Fax: + 353 56 7758201
E-mail: w.deevy@goldstaroils.com

Captive Fleets Projects

Bord na Mona

Bord na Móna is a State company which provides products and services based primarily on peat. It produces and supplies peat as a fuel for the generation of electricity, a range of heating and horticultural products, pollution abatement products, and provides environmental consultancy and commercial laboratory services to industry and public authorities. As part of its strategy of diversification into new areas of business the company plans to produce biodiesel from oilseed rape and other feedstocks and to introduce it on a phased basis in its own fleet of vehicles. It currently uses a number of road haulage trucks in its operations that can operate on biodiesel and some of these will be run on 100% biodiesel as part of the project. This is the first stage of Bord na Móna’s development in the biofuel sector and it plans to follow it with the development of other opportunities.

Contact details: John Lynch
e-mail: john.lynch@bnm.ie


Eco Fuels

Eco Fuels is a Killarney based company which is currently producing biodiesel, primarily from RVO which is collected in Kerry, Clare and Limerick. The company intends to target its existing customer base together with public utility vehicles such as taxis, buses, waste collection companies and hotel and restaurant vehicles.

Contact details: Tadhg Buckley
Phone No:  + 353 64 23543
email: ecofuels@eircom.net

Eco Ola

Eco Ola, Galway, received excise relief under the 2005 Pilot programme and its current customer base includes a range of public and private sector organisations. The biodiesel is made from RVO and the company plans to expand this production through contracts with existing RVO collectors and potentially through the use of oilseed rape grown in the region.

Contact details: Mícheál Ó Riain, Project Director
Phone:  + 353 91 444173
email: ecoola@online.ie

Emo Oil

Emo Oil is a subsidiary of DCC which is one of Ireland’s largest public companies focussed on energy, IT, healthcare, food and beverage and environmental markets. Emo Oil proposes to use biodiesel in blends of 20% in its fleet of vehicles. The biodiesel will be sourced from DCC’s subsidiary ENVA which collects recovered vegetable oil and has established a biodiesel subsidiary in Northern Ireland.

Contact details: Ian Gillespie, Technical Director
Phone No. + 353 57 86 74715
Email iangillespie@emo.ie

Greyhound Recycling and Recovery

Greyhound Recycling and Recovery Ltd operates a nationwide collection service for used cooking oil (UCO) and was awarded excise relief under the pilot programme in 2005. UCO is sourced from a variety of sources including major retailers, food chains, and fuel service stations. Under this programme the current project will expand and will involve the use of between 5% and 100% biodiesel in specific vehicle fleets of Greyhound’s customers, and in Greyhound’s own fleet of waste collection vehicles.

Contact details: Noel Gavigan, Project Developer – Renewable Energy,
Phone: + 353 1 4508865
noelg@greyhoundwaste.com