OTTAWA – The Conservative federal government didn't properly consider several technical feasibility issues before it approved a national biodiesel requirement, says the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute.

The CPPI follows the Canadian Trucking Alliance in expressing some doubt about the national renewable diesel mandate of 2 percent biodiesel and heating oil, proposed to take effect July 1, 2010.

Specifically, CPPI says the proposed implementation date "does not provide adequate lead time for trouble-free transition" and is urging the government to reconsider its timetable.

The institute warns that vegetable oil- and animal fat-based biodiesel (the predominant biodiesel products in Canada) thickens in colder Canadian climates, creating significant technical feasibility challenges.

CPPI notes that the federal government’s National Renewable Diesel Demonstration Initiative (NRDDI) identified the need to resolve several key technical feasibility issues.

"CPPI and its members are concerned that the fuel storage, distribution and transportation infrastructure necessary to compensate for biodiesel’s poor low temperature properties will not be in place in all regions of the country until well after July 1, 2011," the group says.

The NRDDI report also noted that in some regions -- particularly where there are no existing provincial biodiesel mandates -- upgrades to infrastructure could take up to three years.

This is important to “ensure that consumers are not affected by the transition to biodiesel blends," adds CPPI.

A July 1, 2011 start date "does not provide fuel suppliers, the only obligated party under these regulations, the necessary lead time to ensure a seamless, trouble free national transition to renewable diesel blends," says CPPI.

CPPI urges the government to reconsider its current timetable and has confirmed its willingness to work with all stakeholders to achieve a seamless and successful implementation of the renewable diesel mandate.