INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE
An industry creating its own new dawn – liquid biofuel trials in the UK
Accepting the inevitability of an end date for the use of fossil fuels in home-heating , industry bodies UKIFDA and OFTEC , as well as tank manufacturers , distributors and many more are coming together to ensure there is a future for liquid biofuels in our industry . The first UK trials of alternative liquid fuels in home-heating were rolled out late last year and our content editor , Stephanie Samuel , caught up with UKIFDA chief executive Ken Cronin , OFTEC CEO Paul Rose and John and Robert Weedon , directors of South West based distributor Mitchell and Webber , to find out more about this forwardthinking approach that could make industry history .
“ I have been hugely impressed by the work the industry has done on the winter trials ,” said Ken Cronin , president of UKIFDA . “ Both the Climate Change Committee ( CCC ) and the National Grid Future Energy Scenarios ( FES ) predict a significant proportion of our customers will require some form of biofuel by 2050 to help meet the UK ’ s net zero commitment . We support these assertions as these homes tend to be rural and therefore difficult to reach for grid purposes and / or of an age and construction that make retrofitting for other technologies difficult technically or economically .”
Enthusiastically embraced Operating out of Cornwall , distributor Mitchell and Webber was the first company to deliver new , low carbon heating fuel for the UK trials in a partnership with OFTEC and UKIFDA . Commenting on the trials , which have seen a number of customers who previously relied on heating oil trialling HVO since December last year , John Weedon said :
“ We pushed hard to be the ones to trial this first because we have thousands of customers who will have difficulty in changing heating technologies . Talking about alternative fuels can only get you so far , you ’ ve got to get up and
14 Fuel Oil News | March 2021 make it happen .
“ We ’ ve been in this industry for over 120 years and , even as the end date for fossil fuels gets ever closer , there are still 38,000 homes running on oil in Cornwall . As ever , we are determined to get the best alternative fuel for our customers .”
Speaking about the attitudes of their customers , Robert Weedon confirmed their enthusiastic interest :
“ We are getting lots of enquiries from those who would be happy to participate in the trial , and we ’ ve had feedback that customers are delighted that we are looking towards the future for fuel , especially as so many are still using oil here .”
It is pleasing to see an early confidence in HVO already in Cornwall , as John explained :
“ This positive attitude is great news for Mitchell and Webber customers , as the greater the demand for HVO , we very much hope the more affordable it will become . The positive response so far may be largely down to the fact that the cost of conversion to HVO , or other alternative fuels , is very minimal compared to the cost of heat pump installation , for example .”
A huge opportunity for a cost-effective solution Ken Cronin commented :
“ We believe very much in finding the right solution at the right cost with the least amount of disruption for each home . We know that customers are concerned about climate change but equally concerned about cost . What these trials are doing is showing that there is a very simple technical solution and I am delighted at the level of interest being shown .” Robert Weedon said : “ We have to be practical about what is and isn ’ t a possibility for our customers . There is fuel poverty here in Cornwall . Not everyone can afford heat pumps which cost over £ 10k . The government grants will dry up by March this year and questions remain over the capabilities of the grid – especially with electric charging points for vehicles also a key topic here .”
OFTEC CEO , Paul Rose , also expressed confidence in both the fuel and the trials :
“ We are extremely confident that HVO