Source: GreenFuel guarantees E20 blend – herald
Mukudzei Chingwere in CHISUMBANJE
GREENFuel, the country’s leading ethanol producer, has signalled its readiness to limit the impact of global fuel supply disruptions by guaranteeing up to 20 percent blend (E20).
This follows supply shocks linked to the war in the Middle East that have pushed up global fuel prices.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga visited GreenFuel’s Chisumbanje plant yesterday to assess mitigation measures amid recent price hikes – where petrol now sells at US$2,05 per litre and US$2,17 for diesel – which economists fear could accelerate inflation.
During the visit to the expanding ethanol plant, the VP urged ethanol producers to increase production and storage capacity to help shield the economy from international shocks.
GreenFuel highlighted direct price benefits from higher ethanol blending, saying motorists would save roughly US$0,18 per litre at the pump if the market used E20 instead of E5 – a significant relief for households and a meaningful cumulative saving for the economy.
VP Chiwenga directed the Minister of Energy and Power Development, July Moyo to convene ethanol producers to coordinate efforts to minimise fuel price volatility.
“With a storage capacity of 40 million litres and the increased production they have achieved, they can now ameliorate the petrol supply shocks we are beginning to experience,” said VP Chiwenga.
“The Minister of Energy and Power Development, the Honourable July Moyo, is here, and they will discuss how to address some of the major problems we now face.”
VP Chiwenga said it is now a matter of collaboration and coordination with the Ministry of Energy and all stakeholders in the fuel industry, to ensure supplies are maintained.
GreenFuel general manager Mr Conrad Rautenbach said the Chisumbanje expansion supports national resilience as well as business growth.
“As a company, we have been upscaling and upgrading throughout the years. Obviously, like everyone, we didn’t predict a crisis in the Middle East, but we tried to be prepared and to be self-reliant as a company and as a country,” Mr Rautenbach said.
“We have been expanding our sugarcane development, and we have been expanding on the factory side, the production side and on the storage side.
“We are going as fast as we can to develop. This year, the plan is to produce 120 million litres of ethanol and now, with our upgraded storage facility, we should be able to have E20 throughout the year instead of dropping to E5,” he said.
VP Chiwenga also visited Tanganda Tea Estates, lauding the company for adopting solar energy and for its outgrower scheme supporting over 1 000 tea farmers.
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