Detail

Norway

Biofuels

Biodiesel

01/06/2019

Renewable energy

Biofuel policy

Reported that, in 2018, domestic biofuel sales decreased by 25 percent compared with 2017, primarily reflecting a significant drop in demand for palm oil-based biodiesel – a development attributed to a 2017 policy change that banned public procurement and use of biofuel feedstock carrying high ILUC risks.

The Norwegian Environment Agency published data on domestic biofuel sales, broken down by conventional (first-generation) fuels and advanced (second-generation) biofuels. The figures show that, in 2018, overall biofuel sales decreased by 25 percent, primarily reflecting a significant drop in imports of palm oil – a development attributed to the 2017 policy change that banned public procurement and use of high-ILUC-risk biofuel feedstock (see MPPU July’19). Reportedly, between 2017 and 2018, Norway’s consumption of palm oil-based biofuels dropped by 70 percent, while the uptake of advanced biofuels – produced primarily from imported slaughter waste and used deep-fry oil – increased by 38 percent.