Denmark sees future in bioethanol

The announcement represents a U-turn for the government,
which had previously stated it wanted to wait for second generation bioethanol
production methods that extract energy from organic waste and provide increased
environmental benefits.

Still some critics
Bioethanol could provide an important
supplement to the country’s fuel needs, according to Lilleholt. “Even though
Denmark is currently self-sufficient in oil, that won’t be the case in the
foreseeable future,” he said. Some industry experts were critical, however, of
the government’s first steps toward encouraging bioethanol production. Birgitte
Ahring, head of BioGasol, a company developing second generation
bioethanol, criticised the government for a lack of ambition.
“In my
opinion, we could easily have two production facilities here so we could reach
biofuel levels of 12%,” Ahring told daily newspaper Berlingske
Tidende.
Still, parties
on both sides of the political fence have been positive about
the proposal so far and plan to review it more
closely.