Whether you save money on a biofuel conversion for your vehicle depends largely on mileage, writes Tim O'Brien
It is now almost a year since my Volkswagen Passat was converted to run on vegetable oil and it has been a lot of fun. But it has not saved me a lot of money. In fact even though I do at least twice the average mileage, I am only now starting to break even on the cost of conversion.
And while the future pay-back may look rosy, it is always dependent on keeping an ageing car and hoping the suspension doesn't wear out.
The first and most obvious option for motorists wishing to reduce running costs, is the simple diesel engine. Better mileage and generally cheaper fuel is available with the diesel option but it costs between 10 to 15 per cent more than the standard petrol-engine car. On an average €30,000 car that might mean going a further €4,500 on cost for a diesel version - fine if you are going to do a lot of mileage and keep it forever. But if you buy it for the school run and hope to trade every three years, a careful calculation is necessary.
A similar caution should be applied to biofuel - alongside some other cautions that I have discovered over the past year. For a start, the cost of conversion is approximately €1,800 plus vat for a car. Peter O'Neill of ecocar.ie which carries out conversions reckons at this price you need to cover about 30,000 miles a year to make it viable. Van and lorry conversions range from about €2,500 to €4,500 for a HGV but there the savings can be substantial because of the higher mileage involved.
Further warnings: new "common rail" diesel engines may require a two-tank method, starting and shutting down the engine on diesel and switching to vegetable oil when the engine is warm. Vegetable oil will corrode natural rubber used in fuel pipes, it should never be used in an unconverted engine.
And then there is the small problem that converting a private car may invalidate the manufacturer's warranty. So it is probably not best to do the conversion until the car is three years old. And then you have to keep it for another year (probably at best) to cover the cost of conversion, and a few years after that to make any profit.
Then there is the issue of supply and excise duty. Some suppliers of pure plant oil have been granted excise relief by the Government in an EU-imposed move to encourage the use of renewable energy. They include Biogreen Ltd, in New Ross, Co Wexford and Eilish Oils in Co Wicklow as well as Kilkenny Cereals in Goresbridge in Co Kilkenny and Donegal Farm Relief Services in Raphoe, Co Donegal.
In the biodiesel category (which are biofuels blended with diesel) excise relief has been awarded to a pilot project run by Conoco Phillips, at the Whitegate Refinery in Co Cork; Greyhound Recycling, a Meath company involved in the collection of recovered vegetable oil from the industrial and commercial sector and Eco Ola in Galway, which also aims to use recovered vegetable oil.
Sourcing pure vegetable oil or biodiesel outside exempt suppliers makes the motorist liable to excise duty and while it might be fun to fill up with Lidl cooking oil at 69 cent a litre, a cheque for the excise duty at about 40c a litre must be forwarded to Minister for Finance Brian Cowan, otherwise the law is being broken.
One firm which is rapidly expanding in the south is Greatgas, based mainly in the Cork region. Geatgas currently has a pure plant-oil pump at its filling station at Ballyhea near Charleville and contracts for another six which are about to be announced. The cost of the pure plant oil is 89.5 cent a litre including vat. Excise duty does not arise as it is sourced from an exempt producer.
Outside of Greatgas, however, distribution is something of a problem . Many suppliers recommend motorists install a second "central heating-type" tank in their garden and buy 1,000 litres at a time. But in addition to base charges in the range of 80 to 84 cent a litre for rapeseed oil you may be asked to pay about €100 delivery.
Maxol and Ford have evolved a partnership which solves many of the problems. The 5-door 1.8L Focus FFV, runs on any combination of conventional petrol or renewable E85 bioethanol, and due to a special rebate on excise duty granted by the Government, costs €20,368. The ordinary 1.6-litre petrol version costs €22,950. E85 Bioethanol is a mix of petrol and bioethanol and retails for 90.5 cent a litre at an increasing number of maxol stations including Sandymount, Crumlin and Drumcondra and Tivoli in Cork. They plan to sell it in Drogheda, Navan and Waterford.
Ultimately the use of biofuels depends on a personal calculation. But remember that vegetable oil is good for your skin; degrades naturally on contact with the ground or - importantly - with water and you don't have to invade Iraq for it.
BIOFUELS FACTFILE
WHY USE THEM? They can be grown here in Ireland providing security of supply and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.
HOW MUCH DO THEY COST? Anywhere from 69 to 91 cent a litre depending on supplier and type of biofuel.
WHY DIFFERENT TYPES? Diesel vehicles can run on vegetable oil or diesel or mixtures of both. Petrol engines can run on bio-ethanol or petrol or mixtures of both.
WILL MY CHOSEN FUEL HARM MY VEHICLE? Without a conversion, probably yes.
HOW MUCH IS A CONVERSION? Roughly €1,800 plus vat for a car to €4,500 for a heavy goods vehicle.
HOW MANY MILES DO I NEED TO DO TO MAKE THAT COST EFFECTIVE? At least 30,000 a year. A lot for cars, but easily achievable for commercial vehicles, and no problem for lorries.
WHERE CAN I GET BIOFUELS? A limited but expanding number of suppliers.