Ireland plans service trials of duty-free pure plant oil
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THE IRISH DEPARTMENT of Transport plans to launch a pilot scheme under which 50 trucks and coaches will be operated on pure plant oil for a year.
Operators will receive grants covering about 75% of the cost of converting their conventional diesel engine to run on this alternative fuel.
Hauliers are being invited to apply for the scheme, which is expected to cost a total of €2m (£1.34m). At the end of the year the scheme will be reviewed to determine whether it should be rolled out nationally.
The German-Irish Chamber of Commerce, which has been included in the plans as a source of advice, has said that a good geographical spread of hauliers will be selected to use the biodiesel. So far it is only available at 10 locations in Ireland.
Pure plant oil is exempt from excise duty and costs €0.80/lit. Converting an engine costs anywhere between €2,000 to €5,000 (£1,34010 £3,350).