A group of Queenstown tourism operators will use and test biodiesel this year in what is touted as the country’s first public biodiesel consortium.

Developed by Otago Polytechnic’s Centre for Sustainable Practice, the consortium involves about 30 Queenstown operators that will run their vehicles on 20% biodiesel mixed with standard diesel, for 12 months.

The programme will test the compatibility of everything from four-wheel drive vehicles to 53-seater buses, particularly over extreme temperatures in winter and next summer.

Biodiesel producer, Ecodiesel, is raising another $4.5 million capital to complete its full-scale commercial plant in Onehunga.

A $4.7 million pilot plant is already operating, producing biodiesel from tallow (an animal by-product) it sources from the meat processing industry.

The government threw a life-line for the ailing biodiesel industry by announcing a grant program totalling $36 million.

The grant, paid in three installments over the next three years, effectively brings biodiesel in parity with ethanol and encourage investment in the industry.

“By supporting biodiesel production in New Zealand, we can help a new industry up and running, which can provide jobs for New Zealand, at the same time as helping to reduce their greenhouse emissions,” Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said.