Jet planes to run on biofuel by 2015

Aircraft running on biofuel derived from camelina plants are due to be soaring through Australian skies by 2015 –- the same year a jet biofuel refining facility is set to open.

Green fuel will be become an increasingly economic option in the light of the Australian government’s carbon tax announcement.

A conglomerate that includes Qantas, Virgin and Boeing has committed to a plan that will ensure that at least five percent of Australia’s aviation fuel will be biofuel by 2015, reports “The Sydney Morning Herald.” By 2050, this commitment increases to 40 percent.

The plan would see biofuel mixed with carbon-emitting, regular jet fuel.

Flying in Australia is about to get more expensive

The cost of aviation fuel for domestic use will increase by six cents per liter when the carbon tax is applied next year, with this increasing to 10 cents by 2014.

The airline industry is bracing for a $930 million increase in costs over the next four years.

International carriers will not be subject to the tax and Australian airlines will have to compete on an uneven playing field.

"While we are still modeling the cost impact, at $23 per ton there will be some effect on passengers through higher domestic fares,” Qantas group executive Olivia Wirth told The Daily Telegraph. "By mid-2012 the Qantas group will be facing a carbon price in three markets [internationally] and it will be impossible for us to absorb these costs in their entirety."

Japan Airlines conducted a demonstration biofuel flight in January, 2009. KLM operated the "world's first passenger biofuel flight" in November, 2009. Looks like biofuel might be the way of the future.