http://www.thewest.com.au/20020412/news/perth/tw-news-perth-home-sto52459.html The West Australian
Perth's buses will test drive green fuel By Trevor Robb PERTH buses could soon be running on environmentally friendly fuel produced from grain stocks. A trial of the green fuel is about to be conducted by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure. Department spokesman Graeme Harman confirmed yesterday that the Government was about to call for expressions of interest for a biodiesel supplier to fuel a number of the city's buses for the trial. Mr Harman said details would not be completed until the Government had assessed the applications from companies to supply the fuel. But it is understood the trial, involving about a dozen buses, could start within a few months and last for about a year. Biodiesel is produced from oils extracted from grain feeds such as canola, soy bean, tallow and palm oil. It is a much cleaner fuel than diesel fuel because it does not contain the sulfur which causes acid rain. Mr Harman said the trial would be both cost and revenue neutral for the Government. "Whatever we decide to trial will have to be proved to be cleaner than existing diesel," Mr Harman said. Last February, Premier Geoff Gallop announced that Australia's first commercial biodiesel plant would be built at Picton, near Bunbury, by Australian Renewable Fuels. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amadeus Petroleum. Project engineer Michael King said the project was recognition that normal diesel fuel would gradually become more expensive as supplies around the world became harder to get. Mr King said the commercial biodiesel plant was still in the design stage but could be up and running within nine months to supply up to 40 million litres of the fuel a year. Biodiesel was already used widely in both the United States and Europe so the technology was well proved. © 2002 West Australian Newspapers Limited ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Stock for $4 and no minimums. FREE Money 2002. http://us.click.yahoo.com/orkH0C/n97DAA/ySSFAA/9bTolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Biofuels at Journey to Forever http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuel at WebConX http://www.webconx.com/2000/biofuel/biofuel.htm To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
