Fuel suppliers have questioned truck driver complaints that poor-quality green diesel is costing them thousands of euro in extra repair costs and adding millions to energy bills.
The Government has stipulated that fossil road fuel be blended with renewable fuels in order to cut emissions.
The Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) recently highlighted that almost one in four samples of diesel tested for the organisation failed to meet European standards.
However, Fuels for Ireland, which represents diesel and petrol suppliers, rejected the findings this week, arguing that they “lack credibility”. The group claimed the lab that tested the samples did not follow the “methodology set by European and national standards bodies”.
Hauliers have said samples collected in the Republic contained more animal fats than they should, a key part of the problem as such substances clog up filters and damage engines.
However, Fuels for Ireland said all animal fat fuel blends supplied here meet European standards.
The organisation also argued that many of the samples used in the IHRA tests could have been collected from association members’ own storage tanks, rather than direct from suppliers, so it would not be possible to stand over their hygiene or quality.
Renewable transport fuels come from various sources, including processed used cooking oil, some animal fats and other waste.
“We can absolutely stand over the fuel being delivered into these tanks as meeting the standards, but if the tanks are contaminated or tank hygiene is not effectively managed, then the samples taken from them may indeed be problematic,” Fuels for Ireland said.
The group also pointed out that the IRHA report claims to have identified the quantity of hydrogenated vegetable oil – a recognised type of biofuel – found in a sample of diesel.
However, Fuels for Ireland maintained that no facility in the State could do this test, so this claim further undermined the hauliers’ case.
[ Hauliers complain that poor quality biofuels are hitting costsOpens in new window ]
The organisation said that the Department of the Environment tests fuel every year from randomly selected sites, and has found “no significant noncompliance” with standards.
The IRHA’s main concern is that no State or Government body oversees the quality of motor fuel, a situation it wants addressed.
The Department of Transport recently acknowledged this, but pointed out that fuel is monitored to ensure it complies with air quality regulations.
The hauliers’ association pointed out that it got fuel tested in two certified independent labs. “In several cases using samples from the same source the results from the two laboratories matched,” it said.
An IRHA spokesman argued that the lack of State or independent oversight was acceptable when “diesel was just that”, but it was not suitable in the face of the complex blend of multiple products it is today.
He added that with more than 100,000 tanker loads of this blended fuel delivered in the State every year, his industry sought specific action from the State and Fuels for Ireland.
They include ending the use of animal fats, mandating a maximum allowable use of biofuel to ensure diesel met European standards and that any testing regime ensured every tanker load of fuel met those standards.
The departments of transport and the environment are assessing how to ensure motor fuel meets quality standards, according to the Government.
The Government’s renewable transport fuel obligation requires petrol and diesel supplied to Irish motorists to be 21 per cent renewable. The National Oil Reserves Agency oversees the scheme.
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