Summary

NAME: NZ BIOFUEL 20081231Ix TAPE: EF08/1310 IN_TIME: 10:36:29:02 DURATION: 00:01:58:21 SOURCES: TVNZ DATELINE: Auckland, 30 Dec 2008 RESTRICTIONS: No Access New Zealand SHOTLIST ++AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING++ 1. Pilots waving and entering aircraft 2. Wide of plane on tarmac 3. Close up of engine 4. Close up of cockpit 5. Plane taking off 6. SOUNDBITE (English) David Morgan, Air NZ Chief Pilot: ++PARTLY OVERLAID BY PLANE TAKING OFF, JETROPHA SEEDS, OIL AND JET FUEL++ "Jatropha is a plant that grows in the tropics either side of the equator its a plant that people can't eat and stock can't eat cos its mildly poisonous but it produces a seed and that seed contains oil and that oil can be refined into a jet fuel." 7. Plane rising sharply as it takes off 8. Various of plane flying 9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ruud Kleinpaste, Entomologist: ++PARTLY OVERLAID BY PLANE, ENGINE AND PILOTS IN COCKPIT++ "If we can actually yield carbon not from fossilised sunlight but from stuff that you can grow with the minimum amount of impact on this world and that is where I see the big benefit of bio-fuels it also helps bio-diversity with all the plants and all the creatures around us in this world." 10. Plane landing 11. Wide of crowd awaiting its arrival 12. Front view of plane taxiing 13. Pilots walking down stairs 14. Crowd clapping 15. Pilots shaking hands with official 16. Pull out from nose of plane 17. Aerial of plane on tarmac 18. Zoom in on engine 19. Aerial of plane STORYLINE Air New Zealand on Tuesday has tested a passenger jet powered partially with oil from a plum-sized fruit known as jatropha, in efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and cut its fuel bill. With its test flight, the airline became the latest carrier experiment with alternative fuels, partly due to the threat of rising oil prices but also to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from aviation, which are projected to rise by up to 90 percent by 2020 according to European Commission projections. Air New Zealand said the two-hour flight from Auckland International Airport was the first to use what are known as second generation bio-fuels to power an airplane. Second generation bio-fuels typically use a wider range of plants and release fewer emissions than traditional bio-fuels like ethanol. One engine of the Boeing 747-400 airplane was powered by a 50-50 blend of oil from jatropha plants and standard A1 jet fuel. Along with investing in new technology to replace outdated fleets and new designs that reduce weight and air resistance, the International Air Transport Association says airlines are experimenting with a range of plant materials in an effort to find the jet fuel of the future. The association, which represents 230 airlines, said it wants 10 percent of aviation fuel to come from bio-fuels by 2017 as part of a broad climate change plan. Air travel now generates only 2 percent of global carbon emissions that are believed to contribute to global warming, but the industry's high growth rate has raised concern about future emissions. Jatropha is a bush with round, plum-like fruit that has been found in parts of South America, Africa and Asia. David Morgan, Air New Zealand Chief Pilot said that jatropha was mildly poisonous but it produced a seed which contained oil that can be refined into a jet fuel. Seeds from jatropha are crushed to produce a yellowish oil that is refined and mixed with diesel. Tuesday's flight was a joint venture by Air New Zealand, airplane maker Boeing, engine maker Rolls Royce and bio-fuel specialist UOP Llc, a unit of Honeywell International. In February, Boeing and Virgin Atlantic carried out a similar test flight that included a bio-fuel mixture of palm and coconut oil - but that was dismissed as a publicity stunt by environmentalists who said the fuel could not be produced in the quantities needed for commercial aviation. Continental Airlines has said on January 7 it will operate a test flight out of Houston using a special blend of half conventional fuel and half bio-fuel with ingredients derived from algae and jatropha plants. Greenpeace New Zealand said it was inevitable that airlines would show greater interest in sustainable bio-fuels as travellers become more aware of the harm that air travel causes the environment. But the organisation said it wasn't clear whether jatropha was really sustainable. Greenpeace New Zealand questioned what the environmental impact would be if jatropha grew popular and more land and resources were needed to produce it on a commercial scale.