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E3 fuel to be sold at reduced price

Starting next Saturday, E3 gasoline will be available at eight Taipei City gas stations at a subsidized price, the Bureau of Energy announced yesterday.

E3 gasoline contains 3 percent ethanol, an additive that Bureau of Energy officials say will benefit the environment. Specifically, they say burning 1000 liters of E3 fuel will produce 2.1 tonnes less carbon dioxide than burning the same amount of regular gasoline.

Almost all cars made after 2001 can run on E3 without the need for any modification, Bureau of Energy Director-General Yeh Huey-ching (葉惠青) said.

The subsidized price of E3 gasoline will be pegged at NT$1 per liter less than the price of 95 octane unleaded gasoline, Yeh said. The promotion, which runs through the end of next year, is expected to see 2,5 million liters of E3 gasoline subsidized at a cost of NT$20 million.

From Sept. 29, it will be mandatory for all government vehicles in Taipei to fill up with E3, she said.

An exception is made for emergency vehicles such as fire engines, police cars and ambulances. Drivers of these vehicles should fill up with E3 when possible, Yeh said, but are not expected to do so in an emergency.

Yeh described the program as a means of creating demand for E3 gasoline even though Taiwan has yet to produce significant amounts of ethanol. Initially, most of the ethanol used in this program will be imported, she said.

The Council of Agriculture's (COA) pilot program to grow sweet potatoes and corn for ethanol production is still in its infancy. Just 30 hectares of sweet potatoes were grown for ethanol production last year, yielding 40 tonnes of starchy tubers -- enough to provide only a miniscule proportion of the 770,000 liters of ethanol required for the Bureau of Energy's program.

However, Yeh hopes that new techniques, such as brewing ethanol from cellulose, will make Taiwanese producers competitive with exporters in countries such as Brazil.
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