Canada OKs Heating Oil Exemption

STREATOR, Ill. (DTN) -- There will be a permanent exemption to Canada's mandate for blending 2% biofuel into home heating oil, the Canadian Minister of the Environment Peter Kent said in a news release this week.

In addition, Kent announced a six-month extension for the exemption from the 2% renewable content requirement for diesel fuel for Canada's Maritime Provinces, giving refineries in the Maritime provinces an extra six months to ensure that 2% of the diesel fuel they produce comes from renewable sources.

"It is also expected that the national exemption for home heating oil will provide relief to Canadians living in the east where heating oil is more commonly used to heat homes, while also minimizing impact on the west and ensuring a consistent approach for this requirement across Canada," a spokesman for the Ministry told Schneider Electric this afternoon.

"Today's measures will provide flexibility for maritime Provinces to make adjustments required to comply with the regulations and ensure Canadian families are not penalized for heating their homes with home heating oil," Kent said in a statement released Monday.

The Renewable Fuels Regulations, first published in September 2010, require petroleum producers and importers to have an average of 5% renewable fuel content based on their gasoline volumes, as of Sept. 1, 2010, and 2% renewable fuel in their diesel fuel and heating distillate oil as of July 1, 2011.

"The regulations are a key initiative in support of our commitment to reduce Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions by 17% from 2005 levels by 2020 and are one element of the government's broader renewable fuels strategy," the Minister of the Environment news release stated.

The permanent exemption for Newfoundland and Labrador from the 2% renewable content in diesel remains unchanged, the release added.

Myke Feinman can be reached at myke.feinman@telventdtn.com

(BM/AG)

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