Environment minister to axe renewable content requirement for home heating oil

OTTAWA – The federal government is backing away from requiring that home-heating fuel contain at least two per cent renewable content.

Environment Minister Peter Kent says he plans to amend the Renewable Fuels Regulations in the new year to make the current exemption for home-heating oil permanent nationwide.

That will likely be good news for consumers, since it costs more to produce home-heating fuel using renewable products such as biofuels.

In a statement, Kent says refineries in the Maritime provinces will also be given an extra six months to ensure that two per cent of the diesel fuel they produce comes from renewable sources.

A spokesman for the minister says the change comes after the refining industry complained it would be hard-pressed to meet the deadlines laid out in the current regulations.

Newfoundland and Labrador is already exempt from the two per cent renewables requirement for transportation diesel fuel.

The regulations, which came into effect in September 2010, also require an average of five per cent renewable content in gasoline.