As the minister stated earlier, the ecoENERGY program for biofuels is a multi-year program.
Previously, the intent regarding the program, given its design and its structure, was to decrease financial support over time. Thus, eligible companies were given a grant for their biofuel production over a certain period of time. That grant was decreased over time. And the idea was that by the end of the program, the companies would be able to continue producing and supplying biofuels according to market conditions. The program structure itself dictated that funds would decrease over time.
Based on the overall program and current projections, we will have spent approximately 1 billion dollars in grants on these various biofuel producers.
With respect to SDTC's next gen biofuels fund, the decrease in funding reflects the fact that from year to year we also have to consider the amount of interest that is been expressed on the part of the private sector. This program is administered by a third party, the SDTC, which must absolutely find a private sector partner who is willing to go forward with a valid project that meets the program criteria.
To date, market conditions and interest on the part of investors are such that these projects have not materialized as we would have wished. In the end, it is the lack of interest on the part of investors and innovative companies that have lead to the SDTC spending less than had been forecast.