Ethanol fuels problems for Queenslanders

UNDER the proposed Queensland ethanol mandate, five percent of all regular unleaded petrol sold in Queensland must be ethanol blended by January 2011.

The owners of Queensland’s 232,000 recreational boats could be facing serious cost issues if the proposal is given the green light by the Queensland Government.

Don Jones from Marine Queensland, which is a member of the Against Ethanol Mandates Alliance, said a mandate will lead to regular petrol being phased out and force more boat owners to use ethanol blended fuel which is impractical for water based activity.

“Federal Government statistics reinforce the validity of such concerns with 34per cent less regular petrol sold in the state since the Government announced the mandate in August 2006.

“Boating is the wrong environment for ethanol blended fuel,” Jones said.

“If the slightest amount of water comes in contact with ethanol blended fuel the alcohol will separate and what enters the motor will cause damage.

“Condensation build up in a portable fuel tank, or water spray when changing tanks, can be enough for the fuel to become ineffective and cause a lot of damage.“Skippers may change their tanks on the water and often motor areas are not protected from rain or sea spray.”

Jones said the industry has already reported an increase in the number of motors damaged from using ethanol fuel.

“With the cost of an outboard motor being between $5,000 and $70,000, the damage could prove very expensive for Queensland, even putting the family boating trip at risk.”

More costly to produce than petrol, ethanol also requires purpose built storage, distribution and transport infrastructure upgrades

Jones said expensive fuel distributor and marine service station infrastructure upgrade costs will be passed on to consumers through higher fuel prices.

Although 94 percent of recreational boats are less than eight metres long, owners of the larger boats with inboard motors will not escape damage.

“Inboard motors are traditionally fuelled by diesel but we are also seeing problems with biodiesel,” Jones said.

source: marinebusiness