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Tees Valley receives further boost

The North East’s green fuels economy has received another boost this week with the announcement of a bioethanol production plant at Wilton, near Redcar. UK renewable energy firm Ensus’ plans to build its first bioethanol plant will help to encourage the use of green fuels within the North East, say Renew Tees Valley.

The plant, which will have an annual production capacity of around 400million litres of bioethanol a year and is expected to come on stream in 2008, will use wheat as a feedstock and, as well as bioethanol, will produce significant quantities of material known as DDGS (Dry Distillers Grain Solubles) which will initially be marketed as animal feed, together with carbon dioxide which has a number of potential uses.

Doctor Dermot Roddy, Chief Executive of Renew Tees Valley, said: “Obviously the fact that we are seeing confirmation of plans for another major production facility further strengthens the Tees Valley’s position as the leading area in the UK for renewable energy projects of all kinds – especially as it follows the recent announcement of Centrica’s involvement in the proposals for the development of the UK’s first coal fired power plant to use the revolutionary Carbon Capture and Storage technology.

“At the same time it gives added impetus to the efforts involving ourselves and many other organisations, such as Northeast Biofuels, to raise awareness of opportunities for the use of new green fuels. “Having a major bioethanol production facility at Wilton will obviously help to encourage the switch to green fuel – something which is absolutely vital given that 25 per cent of the UK’s entire carbon dioxide is generated from road transport.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .