Since civilization man has met his energy needs one way or the other. Modern man has depended largely on fossil fuel which is non renewable and has been the major cause of greenhouse gas emissions thereby degrading the environment. In 2005 a presidential directive was given to the NNPC for the exploration of Renewable Energy as a source of energy i.e. energy that is replaced by a natural process at a rate that is equal to or faster than the rate at which that resource is being consumed. This led to the creation of the Renewable Energy Division (RED) of the NNPC in August 2005. The Division is to midwife the birth of renewable energy initiatives of the NNPC. This is consistent with the dictates of the Kyoto protocol of which Nigeria is a signatory.

NNPC is to spearhead the launch of a bio-fuel program for Nigeria which aims at creating a sustainable domestic industry by integrating the energy and agricultural sectors of the country. The rationale for the program, which is aimed at growing a thriving home grown industry includes; providing jobs and economic empowerment to rural communities, reducing Nigeria’s dependence on fossil fuels and protecting the environment while participating in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) program.

The NNPC through the RED has initiated the Automotive Bio-fuel program for the production of fuel-ethanol and bio-diesel that would be blended with PMS (Premium Motor Spirit) otherwise know as Petrol and AGO (Automotive Gas Oil), in proportions not exceeding 10% volume. The resulting new fuel which is to be called “Green Gasoline” will reduce the volume of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere, improve air quality and ultimately reduce global warming and its catastrophic consequences.