Queensland, which is on the verge of introducing an ethanol mandate to help develop its bio-fuel industry, is also looking to the US Navy as a potential buyer of biofuels.
State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk visited the Pentagon as part of a Queensland trade mission, and met US Navy procurement officers to discuss their biofuel needs. The Navy has a target for half of its energy needs to be met by renewable sources by 2020.
Ms Palaszczuk said US Navy demand could be another factor in creating a thriving biofuels industry in regional Queensland.
“We saw the boom of the LNG industry – this has the potential to be our next growth industry,” Ms Palaszczuk said, as reported by Seven News.
“We know the technology is there, we know we have the people already working in this field, what we now need to do is seek out those industry partners.”
Ms Palaszczuk said there were several options for siting a major biofuel facility and named Mackay, Gladstone and Townsville as possible sites.
