Cromwell and Wanaka could be in line for a dedicated biodiesel depot.
The group behind a pilot biodiesel depot in Queenstown, and a proposed depot in Dunedin, is to discuss expanding the consortium-based scheme to Cromwell and Wanaka.
Otago Polytechnic Centre for Sustainable Practice manager Steve Henry, who co-ordinates the Queenstown Lakes and Dunedin consortiums, said Cromwell was an obvious choice for expansion.
The Queenstown depot got its fuel from Christchurch, and tankers had to pass Cromwell to deliver it, Mr Henry said yesterday.
It made sense to consider a "significant" holding tank at Cromwell, to act as a feeder to the Queenstown depot.
A depot could also be established in Cromwell.
The Queenstown consortium was dominated by tourism companies, and their experience might encourage depot development among tourism businesses in Wanaka.
The Queenstown consortium will hold a symposium to discuss the best way to deliver biodiesel in Queenstown, Cromwell and Dunedin next week.
The group will be buoyed by the success of the Queenstown depot built and supplied by Allied Petroleum.
The depot dispensed 10,000 litres of fuel last month after doubling its output each month since it started in March, Allied Petroleum was last month awarded the contract to build and supply a Dunedin depot, backed by a consortium of some of Dunedin's biggest users of diesel.
The project timeline rested on having a suitable site and the speed with which it could get through the resource consent process, but a suitable site had yet to be found.
