DOE may raise minimum blend for biodiesel products to 5%

MANILA, Philippines - Consistent with the mandate of the law, the Department of Energy (DOE) is currently studying the possibility of raising the biodiesel blend on diesel products to five percent.

DOE director Mario Marasigan said they are set to hold public consultations within the year on the viability of increasing the biodiesel blend. “There will be public consultations on biodiesel but we have no firm dates yet,” he said.

The Biofuels Act of 2006 mandates diesel products to have a minimum biodiesel mix sourced from local agricultural products such as coconut.

From an initial one percent blend, the mandate was doubled to two percent in 2009.

The proposal to increase the blend has been hanging around for sometime as the country adheres to efforts of reducing the country’s oil imports, create more jobs and promote a cleaner environment.

Included in the consultations, Marasigan said would be the claim of some sectors that the rise in oil prices was triggered by the impact of the biofuels blend.

The DOE official said they would also like to determine if there would be enough supply once the higher biodiesel blend is adopted.

“That issue will also be subject for public consultations,” Marasigan added.

Based on earlier estimates, the Philippines has enough capacity to produce 365 million liters of biodiesel per year.

A five-percent blend, estimates showed, would require only 300 million liters annually.

The huge capability to produce biodiesel is in contrast to the dilemma of ethanol producers.

The law mandates that at least five percent of the total gasoline sold in the country be blended with five percent bioethanol by February 2009 and upon the recommendation of the National Biofuels Board and the Department of Energy, increases this mandated blend to 10 percent by 2011.

The DOE earlier said it may ask Congress to come up with a resolution that would allow importation of bioethanol to meet the requirement of 10 percent blend by February 2011 under the Biofuels Act of 2006.