GAIN EU Biofuels Annual 2015 Report
The Global Agriculture Information Network (GAIN) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its report on the EU biofuel market.
On April 28, 2015, the European Parliament approved the reform of the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), which includes a 7 % cap on food crop based biofuels for the transport sector. The current blending of food crop based ethanol and biodiesel is estimated at respectively 3.3 and 4.3 %. Further growth in the use of conventional biofuels will mainly depend on the successful introduction of the higher blends such as E10 and E85. The blending of non-food based biofuels is estimated at 0.6 %. Since the past five years, production of biodiesel from waste has taken off, while the commercialization of cellulosic ethanol is lagging behind. The market for biomass for heating and power, in particular wood pellets is surging. The large scale industrial use of pellets is however dependent on the implementation of funding and sustainability requirements by the individual Member State Governments.
