Nelson iwi Ngati Koata Trust plans to sell biodiesel to local motorists,
manufacturers and boatowners within three months.
The iwi has bought the intellectual property rights to reactors used to
make biodiesel and intends to sell fuel and diesel-making equipment.
Trust chief executive Caron Paul said the reactors could be used to
extract oil from several raw materials, including vegetable oil and
animal fat.
She said biodiesel would be no more expensive than traditional diesel
bought at the pump.
She would not say how much the iwi had invested in the scheme.
"It is New Zealand technology and there has been quite heavy investment
in the intellectual property, of the equipment and the formulas," Paul said.
"To us, it is a good investment for an iwi. We were keen to be involved
in an environmental business and feel this is a good investment for
Ngati Koata."
She said the business would provide further opportunities for employment
and iwi revenue.
There was already interest from Nelson businesses, including
manufacturers with diesel-powered generators, and boatowners.
Paul said the iwi would sell the biodiesel at the port, where the iwi
was based, and it also had a manufacturing site in Nelson where the
machinery was made.
Reactors would be sold to those wanting to set up a biodiesel
manufacturing business, and fuel would be sold direct to service stations.
Both new and used vegetable oils could be used, along with a range of
potential sources, including pine needles.
Prime Minister Helen Clark announced this week that 3.4 per cent of all
fuel sold in New Zealand would have to be biofuel by 2012.
Climate Change Minister David Parker said new fuel regulations would cut
greenhouse gas emissions by more than a million tonnes by 2012.
It would also lower dependence on imported oil and improve energy
security, he said.
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