The Nationals WA leader Brendon Grylls will join a State Government taskforce that is being set up to investigate the viability of a biofuels industry in Western Australia.
Mr Grylls received confirmation from Agriculture Department staff this week during a meeting to progress talks over the composition of the taskforce and finalise the terms of reference.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to develop a new industry with clean-burning renewable fuels and a new market for grain growers," he said.
Mr Grylls stressed the urgency of the taskforce's work, saying he did not want Western Australia to miss the opportunity to become a player in the nationwide push for a biofuels industry.
"The V8 Supercars will start using a new 100 octane fuel from Shell formulated with five per cent ethanol in March next year, and you can already buy E5 and E10 at fuel outlets in the Eastern States," he said.
Mr Grylls was enthusiastic at the potential of a Perth-based company, Australian Renewable Fuels, which was developing five new biodiesel plants across the country.
"Its start-up facilities in Picton, south of Perth, and Largs Bay in South Australia, which I visited last week, will each have the capacity to produce up to 45 million litres per year," he said.
He believed a biofuels industry could help revitalise country communities and provide opportunities for rural diversification, and said The Nationals would call for biofuel production facilities based in regional Western Australia.
