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Joined: 05 Nov 2003
Posts: 814
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 2:33 pm Post Subject: Rising Oil prices support calls for New BioFuel
As the last of the CNG pumps are removed from stations all around New Zealand :( rising oil prices are lending support for a new government proposed biofuel, in both petrol and diesel:
He is not yet indicating the proportion of fuel production oil companies will be expected to provide from renewable sources... The Ministry of Transport is working with user groups as well as the oil and motor industries to set a target.
Years ago, we used to be able to fill up our camper with CNG in Auckland and get all the way to Kamo on one fill (around $13 or so), where we could fill up again, before heading to the Far North, on holiday. Kamo was the farthest north CNG station. The CNG was great - economical, clean burning and gentle on the trusty Bedford's Holden motor. A dual fuel system, having that reserve fuel on board was also a real bonus in out of the way places - like the time we jacked up the van to try and get it level for sleeping and punctured the petrol tank. A quick MacGyver-like repair to the hole with a cake of soap stopped the petrol leak quite well - but we had the extra confidence of being able to get back out of the area on CNG.
Over the years as CNG became more scarce, we learned where the remaining stations were to be found, sometimes even making a slight detour to get a fill on our way somewhere. Sadly the 'out of order' signs sellotaped to the pumps became more and more frequent and it was more and more common to find that the CNG pump had been 'taken out'. Some of the old favourites are now long gone, Shell Oakleigh, Hamilton, Foxton... Apparently there is a guy in Huntly that has his own private pump and buys in his own supplies, still running all his vehicles on it. As of April this year, there was still a station in Wanganui, but no doubt its days are numbered.
We often feel very sad about the rise and fall of CNG in New Zealand and the manner in which it was trumpeted in and given support, then allowed to die a silent death, stranding the many motorists who enthusiastically embraced its economy and its environmentally friendly properties. Everyone we talked to at those last remaining outposts raved about it.
Talk of a biofuel by 2008, in my book, is too little, too late. Sure the rising petrol prices hurt - but waiting until things get desperate is short-sighted and inadequate.
NZ Herald wrote:
"Biofuel has great potential in New Zealand," he said. "It can help improve the security of transport fuel supplies and offer worthwhile health and emissions benefits - the time has come to take the first small step so the industry can make investment decisions with certainty."
Indeed. Ripping out the CNG pumps was a very, very backward step.
