The implementation of the bioethanol mixture in gasoline should not be optional, but mandatory. This is what he stated Paula Mesé, director of Regulation of Hydrocarbons and Alternative Energies of the National Secretariat of Energy (SNE)during the analysis of the bill being promoted in the National Assembly.
According to the official, the nature of the Panamanian market—characterized by its small size and volume of consumption compared to other countries in the region—makes the coexistence of fuels with and without renewable additives “unviable.”
Mesé explained that the coexistence of fuels with and without ethanol would force companies to double their storage and distribution infrastructure nationwide.
This increase in operating costs would inevitably be transferred to the final price that the user pays at the service stations.
In addition, the obligation simplifies quality control and traceability tasks, allowing authorities to quickly identify any irregularity or contamination in the product, a process that would become excessively expensive and complex if a greater variety of fuels on the market had to be monitored.
In support of this technical vision, Marcelo Velásquez, consultant at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), He noted that most countries in the region, including powers such as Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, have already successfully established mandatory mandates.
Velásquez cited the example of Guatemala, which will join this trend on June 30 with a 10% mixture, and recalled that in the United States scientific evidence has made it possible to raise mixtures up to 15% under the standards of the Environmental Protection Agency.
According to the consultant, the advance towards biofuels is a global route also promoted by the European Parliament to reduce greenhouse gases, representing a strategic opportunity for Panama to modernize its energy matrix with international environmental quality standards.
The debate on the use of bioethanol in Panama is once again gaining relevance after the advancement of bill 443, which has already passed the second debate in the National Assembly.
The initiative proposes introducing this biofuel into gasoline, in a measure that combines environmental, economic and energy objectives.
The legislative proposal establishes the progressive introduction of gasoline mixtures with bioethanol, commonly known as E10, and regulates the entire production, import and distribution chain of the product.
The objective is to diversify the country’s energy matrix, reduce dependence on petroleum products and generate new economic opportunities in the agroindustrial sector.
