National Biofuels Policy and Strategy

The Biofuels Policy and Strategy aims to strengthen the production of biofuels, establishing general guidelines for the development of the sector.

The document adopts an Action Plan, identifying specific measures to be taken in the first five years following the entry into force of the Policy/Strategy. The Plan calls for the institution and is the foundation of the National Programme for the Development of the Biofuels Purchase Programme and the Biofuels National Commission.

A calendar for the gradual implementation of the Biofuel Policy and Strategy is also defined, consisting of three phases. The 'pilot phase' extends from 2012-2015 establishes a fuel blending mandate of 10% for bioethanol and 3% for biodiesel and foresees the first acquisitions of biofuels from national suppliers, on a small scale. The 'operational phase' (2016-2020) consists of the consolidation of activities within the sector, increasing the fuel blending mandate to 15% bioethanol and 7.5% biodiesel. Finally, the 'expansion phase' expects to develop independent distribution networks for fuels with a high percentage of ethanol, and purely for biofuels and further expands the blending mandate to 20% bioethanol and 10% biodiesel blending.

The document includes a budget for defining the allocation of resources for specific projects from 2009-2013.