Image: dpa/David Ebener
Anyone who releases too much CO2 this year will be asked to pay a lot. The CO2 penalty levy on the EU increases from 0.1 to four cents per liter of fuel. “That’s a fourfold increase,” says tower oil spokesman Klaus Maschek. Or to put it another way: Up until now, you had to pay 15 euros per tonne of CO2 too much, from this year 600 euros.
Therefore, fuel suppliers such as Turmöl, OMV, Shell, etc. reduce their CO2 share. This is made possible by the new fuel regulation, which allows the use of E10 on a voluntary basis. “Almost everyone is participating because of the higher fines,” said Maschek.
E10 means that ten percent bioethanol is added to the super petrol, and not the previous five percent (E5). “The conversion saves 130,000 tons of CO2 per year,” says Bernhard Wiesinger from the ÖAMTC. Drivers’ clubs have been calling for the introduction of E10 for years, but failed due to resistance from the Ministry of the Environment. The Greens’ argument: the production of bioethanol requires grain that can be used as food. “Bioethanol is a waste product from protein production, so the argument is not correct,” says Wiesinger.
Agrana Starke GmbH in Pischelsdorf near Tulln has been producing bioethanol since 2008. If you switch to E10, the entire need can be covered from domestic production.
Fuel providers will switch to E10 from the beginning of April. “There will be no parallel operation,” says Maschek.
98 percent of cars tolerate E10, the rest have to switch to Super Plus. “All models built after 2005 can easily be refueled with E10,” says Bernhard Wiesinger. Under www.E10tanken.at you can check the compatibility for your own car.
Because E10 has a lower energy content than E5, consumption will increase by an average of one percent, according to Wiesinger. Due to the changed production, E10 will be one cent more expensive per liter. But if you don’t switch, the penalties will rise – and with them the prices by up to five cents per liter in a year at the latest, say the experts.
What is bioethanol?
Bioethanol is a fuel produced by fermentation of carbohydrate-containing biomass such as sugar and starch with an alcohol content of at least 99 percent by volume.
Source: Nachrichten
