Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

An Auckland biofuel company plans to have a commercial-scale production plant producing biodiesel from tallow by May 2009.

Ecodiesel has been running a pilot plant producing biodiesel from tallow, which is animal fat rendered down from meat processing.

Chairman Lindsay Ferguson says legislation setting compulsory minimum levels for biofuel use in New Zealand has provided the incentive to move into commercial production.

He says the company would like to process 20,000 tonnes of the 150,000 tonnes of tallow the meat industry produces each year, and double production within two years.

He says the fuel produced by tallow available in New Zealand could replace 5% of the transport sector's current consumption of fossil based diesel.