Bioethanol up, biodiesel down in UK biofuel consumption

The UK’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its Energy Trends data for 2017. The report includes in depth statistics on the country’s biofuels industry.

According to the report, overall biofuel consumption in transport was down 0.5% on the previous year, falling from 1,467 million litres to 1,460 million litres. However, year on year, biofuel consumption in transport showed a 12% increase in Q4 2017 compared with Q4 2016.

Total deliveries of ‘key transport fuels’ were up 0.5% in Q4 2017. Demand for road diesel increased by 0.9% and aviation turbine fuel by 1.4%.

The Energy Trends reports are published every quarter, concurrently in June, September, December and March. The March edition covers the fourth quarter of the previous year, and the previous year as a whole.

 

Biodiesel vs. bioethanol

Despite the overall decline in liquid biofuel consumption for transport in 2017 compared to 2016, bioethanol consumption actually increased by 0.6%, from 759 million litres to 764 million litres.

Biodiesel consumption, on the other hand, fell by 1.7% from 708 million litres in 2015 to 696 million litres in 2017.

Bioethanol contributed 52% of biofuel consumption in 2017, compared to biodiesel’s 48%. The same balance was recorded in 2016.

In 2017 Q4, 382 million litres of liquid biofuels were consumed in transport, an increase of 12% on the 342 million litres in 2016 Q4. Biodiesel consumption increased by 18%, from 105 million litres, the lowest Q4 for four years, to 177 million litres. Bioethanol consumption in 2016 Q4 increased by 6.7 per cent, from 192 million litres, the lowest Q4 in 5 years, to 205 million litres in 2017 Q4.

 

This article was written by Daryl Worthington, editor of Biofuels International