With the turn of the New Year, new biofuel blend requirements are officially now in place in Manitoba.
Effective Jan. 1, 2021, the amount of ethanol required in gasoline sold in the province increased to 9.25% from 8.5% previously, while the biodiesel requirement increased to 3.5% from 2%. The ethanol and biodiesel requirements will further increase to 10% and 5%, respectively, on Jan. 1, 2022.
The increased biofuel requirements were identified in the 2017 Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan and were recommended by the Expert Advisory Council for the plan in 2019, according to a government release.
The higher biofuel standards should result in increased demand for crops such as corn, wheat and canola, although the province did not say exactly how much.
Increased biofuels blending is a key government commitment aimed at reducing emissions in the transportation sector, which currently accounts for 40% of all emissions in Manitoba. The increases also reflect industry requests for incremental changes to enable a seamless transition to the use of more low-carbon fuels across the province.
In an announcement in November 2020, the Ontario government said it will require fuel suppliers to increase the amount of renewable content in regular-grade gasoline to 15% from the current 10% by 2030 – becoming the first province in the country to do so.
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