Queenstown Biodiesel – one year on

Happy operators of 66 vehicles using up to 15,000 litres of biodiesel per month and a series of national commendations demonstrate the success of New Zealand’s first community biodiesel pilot programme just one year after its establishment.

The pilot programme was launched in Queenstown in March 2010 by the Queenstown Lakes Biodiesel Consortium, led by the Otago Polytechnic Centre for Sustainable Practice.

The consortium provides New Zealand’s first public biodiesel refuelling facility and its development was funded by EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority). The ground-breaking community initiative brought biodiesel (Biogold NZ20 – a blend of used cooking oil and mineral diesel) to Queenstown and has 20 local tourism operators using biodiesel in 66 commercial vehicles. It is estimated that collectively these 66 vehicles have already saved up to 38 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere.

Tim Barke of Kiwi Discovery has been involved with the programme from its inception and is keen to help grow the use of biodiesel.

“The pilot has been very successful for us and we’re delighted to report absolutely no issues in running vehicles on biodiesel,” said Mr Barke. “We are most certainly prepared to increase our use of the fuel as much as possible. I’d like to see biodiesel in a truck-stop so it’s easy for all big commercial vehicles to access. The ultimate goal for me is to get biodiesel available to the general public through mainstream fuelling facilities.”

The Centre for Sustainable Practice has also received three national awards recognising the success of its work in the Queenstown Lakes District. Celebrating Excellence and Innovation in Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy the Centre was commended in the Transport, Community and Renewable Energy categories at the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) awards held late last year

Biodiesel consortium project leader and director of the Centre for Sustainable Practice Steve Henry said he was very pleased with the success of the pilot and that his goal was to continue working with Queenstown Lakes District businesses to increase sustainable practice in the region and further afield.

“The results speak for themselves. There are several programmes run by the Centre and all are producing results for the region. As well as success with biodiesel, we’ve engaged more than 40 businesses in sustainable practice through our customised training programmes and we have 12 students working in the area in our Wanaka based Graduate Diploma programme. We’ve had tangible, positive results over the past year,” he said.

Marking the anniversary, the Centre for Sustainable Practice will host a series of public forums in the district featuring a presentation from fuel expert Andrew Campbell. The first is to be held on Thursday 24th March in Cromwell at Molyneaux restaurant in Erris St from 1.00pm to 2.30pm. It will be followed by a Wanaka presentation at 15 Cliff Wilson St from 4 – 5 pm. On Friday 25th March the final forum will take place at Queenstown Memorial Hall at 12.30pm. All interested parties are invited to attend, listen to Mr Campbell then discuss options for further development.