UK biofuels - land required to meet RTFO 2010
10 August 2006 - A document showing that UK farming can supply for the 5% RTFO and are confident that as technology advances, this percentage will increase.
The NFU has supported the development of UK biofuels industry for many well-understood reasons - demonstrated carbon savings achievable in the transport fuel sector; increase in UK fuel security; benefits to the rural economy. The question of whether UK agriculture's spare land capacity is sufficient to supply for the forthcoming demand for biofuels required to meet the UK RTFO (5% by volume) is often raised. NFU figures below illustrate the feedstock (crop for biofuel production) required and land use involved in supplying for 5% of the projected UK fuel demand in 2010.
Illustration of land involved in supplying RTFO for 2010
| Petrol | Diesel | |
| Estimated 2010 Demand | 19 million tonnes | 22.5 million tonnes |
| 5% by volume (RTFO) | 1.2 billion litres of bioethanol | 1.35 billion litres of biodiesel |
| Feedstock Required | 3 million tonnes of wheat | 2.7 million tonnes of OSR |
| Land Involved | 375,000 ha (8t/ha) | 840,000 ha (3.2t/ha) |
These figures show the potential for UK agriculture to meet the 5% RTFO target (assuming an even split of 5% in both petrol and diesel markets). Note - these calculations use high estimates for fuel demand and conservative average yield estimates.
If 100% of the UK obligation were to be produced domestically it would involve approximately 20% of UK arable land - 1.2 million ha of 5.9 million ha (UK arable land 2004). This figure does appear high and such figures have been used to undermine UK ability to supply for this market and attempt to derail biofuels on a food versus fuel debate.
However, these headline figures hide many of the facts that make the economic and environmental case for biofuels. Importantly this is a figure for land involved in supplying feedstock for biofuels demand, not necessarily extra land required.
Dual purpose crops.
It must be remembered that the crops used in production of biofuels are dual purpose -
• In wheat bioethanol production, approximately 1/3 of the crop is retained as distillers grains, a high quality animal feed.
• In oilseed rape biodiesel production, approximately half the crop is retained as high protein animal feed.
Both of these co-products can be used as high quality animal feed that will replace some of the protein crops imported to the country for animal feed and some of the UK crop area for feed. Actual use of co-product will depend on the market available but an alternative will be to generate further bioenergy for the UK. Biofuel co-product can be used to supply biomass for heat and power production, so helping to reduce carbon emissions further.
Whatever the end use, co-product yield must be taken into account in land requirement calculations. This valuable product can reduce the demand for imported protein - adding value to a basic commodity and helping UK balance of payments, provide further bioenergy, or reduce the land required for UK animal feed production.
If the effect of co-products is taken into account - 2.4 million tonnes of distillers grains and rape meal - this reduces the calculated extra land area needed to approximately 900,000 ha. (2.4 million tonnes high protein animal feed would require approximately 300,000 ha)
Existing spare land capacity
The UK agriculture market is some way off reaching productive capacity. The projected extra land required to meet the 5% RTFO (net of co-product) is in the region of 900,000 ha. The UK has a current average exportable wheat surplus of 3 million tonnes (375,000 ha) and mandatory set-aside of 559,000 ha.
These calculations take no account for the current production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil (WCO) and tallow, such as the 50 million litres from Argent Energy in Motherwell, or the possibility to utilise more of the estimated 300,000 t per year stocks of WCO and tallow in the country.
For years UK and Europe has been castigated for over producing food, which has resulted in production control measures restricting farming potential. Now a market is emerging in renewable energy that gives proven carbon savings over fossil fuels and can be supplied sustainably by UK agriculture. It is interesting that as soon as anything approaching market tension (surely the intention of CAP reform?) comes into view, multinational food processors are concerned that the price of agricultural produce may rise.
At present, and in the foreseeable future, there is no food versus energy conflict in the UK. Indeed the introduction of new bioenergy markets will help agricultural efficiency in capturing solar energy and exploit synergies between the two products.
Future efficiency gains
Biofuels are a new technology and have little history or infrastructure established in the UK. The industry requires support to establish domestic production. Technological advances will follow to enable further efficiency along the whole of the production chain; plant breeding targeted at improving extractable oil and starch yield; agronomy; reduced inputs; processing efficiency; economies of scale; improved use and marketing of co-products; exploitation of synergy with bioenergy and food uses; and many more. Technology also exists that is able to produce biofuels from woody fibres (lingo-cellulosic technology) which allows a much greater range of biomass to be used. Although this technology is not yet economically viable on a commercial scale, advances such as this will allow greater efficiency of biofuel production in future years and greater use of biomass waste and by-products.
The Brazilian experience with biofuels over the past thirty plus years has shown an average efficiency gain of 4% per year across the production chain. There is no reason to expect the UK industry, given sufficient support, would achieve any less.
Future UK capacity for biofuel production
The NFU believes that, far from not being able to produce the feedstock required for the UK RTFO of 5% inclusion by volume, we can actually produce sufficient to extend the target to meet the EU biofuel target of 5.75% (by energy) and beyond (5.75% by energy equates to something in the region of 7.5 - 8% by volume). We call on the Government to extend the UK RTFO to more challenging targets that will give greater certainty to the market and make UK biofuels a more attractive market to invest in.
We have shown that UK farming can supply for the 5% RTFO and are confident that as technology advances, this percentage will increase. In time further technology will allow use of a greater range of biomass feedstock and traditional waste and co-products. The domestic biofuels industry needs support at this stage to ensure UK is in a position to take advantage of future technology.
Adding value
The biofuels market allows farmers the chance to add value to crops grown that would otherwise be exported at minimum price. The additional production of high protein feed also reduces the need for imports such as soya & maize from USA, Canada, Brazil and others.
Development of the UK biofuels industry will have a direct effect on employment opportunities and a knock-on effect to the rural economy in general. East of England Development Agency (EEDA) research showed that about 2-5 farming jobs could be created or sustained for each 1,000t of biofuel produced. A 100,000t processing plant could create/sustain around 60-80 jobs directly and as many as 550 jobs in agriculture.
