Jamaica became the first country in the English-speaking Caribbean to introduce biofuel-blended gasoline for public use when the first tankful of ethanol-blended gasoline was pumped during a launching ceremony at the Petcom Portmore Service Station in St. Catherine on November 1st.

The event represented the culmination of the government’s plans to commercially introduce biofuel to the Jamaican transport sector, starting with E10, a blend of 10% ethanol and gasoline. 

Ethanol is a clean-burning, high-octane fuel, which when added to gasolene meets international clean-air standards, improves engine performance and reduces the concentration of carbon dioxide in exhaust emissions.  According to data released by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, E10 reduces greenhouse gases from vehicle emissions by 12-19 per cent.

E10 is being introduced in Jamaica on a phased basis, starting with service stations in capital city Kingston and some eastern and central parishes, expanding to the entire country by April 2009.  The E10 programme is supported by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Petrojam and Petcom.

Jamaican motorists use approximately 4.5 million gallons of gasoline annually.

Jamaica is the largest producer of fuel-grade ethanol in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). The country’s three ethanol refineries produce (using raw ethanol imported from Brazil and elsewhere) about 150 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol annually for export to the US.

The E10 rollout means that Jamaica now joins a select group of countries including the USA, Canada, Sweden, and Brazil that use ethanol-blended fuel.

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