Lord Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food
and Farming and Animal Health this week opened British Sugar's state of
the art bioethanol production facilities at Wissington, Norfolk.
The plant is the first of its kind in the
UK. It produces bioethanol from locally-grown sugar beet and has an
annual production capacity of 70 million litres; made from 110,000
tonnes of sugar that is surplus to the needs of the food market.
On declaring the plant open, Lord
Rooker said: “These production facilities represent the marrying-up of
British Agriculture and British Engineering Technology.”
Bioethanol is an
environmentally-friendly, sustainable fuel source with the potential to
reduce CO2 emissions by 50-70%, compared to regular unleaded
petrol. In March 2008, the Government will introduce the Renewable
Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) which states that 5% of all fuel to be
sold on forecourts must be from renewable sources by 2010. The new plant
at Wissington will contribute directly to reaching this target.
Jonathan Nash, Managing Director of Saab Great Britain, said: “Saab, as
the only volume car manufacturer to offer an environmentally-friendly
engine choice across its entire range, welcomes this exciting new
initiative. Bioethanol has an important part to play in reducing
CO2 emissions from road
transport and it is great to see British Sugar sourcing crops locally
and maximising efficiency across their facility - it's clear that they
are at the forefront of sustainable bioethanol production in the UK.”
Speaking at the opening British Sugar
Group Chief Executive, Mark Carr, said: “We are delighted to take the UK
lead in this exciting new industry,” adding, “the Wissington bioethanol
project clearly demonstrates our ability to identify and develop
opportunities in markets where we can add value.”
