Permission Granted for UK’s first Grain Bio-Ethanol Plant

South Somerset District Council Planning Committee yesterday voted unanimously to grant permission for Green Spirit Fuels, the UK’s leading bioethanol development company, to build the UK’s first grain bioethanol plant at Henstridge in Somerset.

The bio-refinery will produce bioethanol from grain for use as a clean vehicle fuel, along with two main co-products in the form of an animal feed and bottled carbon dioxide (CO2) for use in industrial applications.

Bioethanol is best blended with petrol and will contribute towards the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (a requirement for all road fuel to contain 5% bio-fuel by 2010).

Construction of the plant, capable of producing 100,000 tonnes of fuel, is expected to commence during 2006 with production starting in 2007.

Managing Director Malcolm Shepherd commented, “We are obviously delighted with today’s decision. This will confirm the South West as the leading region in renewable and sustainable energy and will contribute not just to the health of the environment but also to the well-being of the farming community.”

For further information on Green Spirit Fuels please contact Peter Crowe on 01327-262200/07967 504 034 or Ema Murphy on 01327 262200/07748 113 131 The Ceres
Partnership.

Notes
Facts and Figures on Bioethanol

• The original Model T Ford was designed to run on ethanol produced from corn
• A football pitch planted with wheat would produce enough fuel to travel 12,000 miles
• Cars in the UK can use a blend of up to 5% bioethanol without affecting the manufacturer’s warranty
• Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs), using blends of up to 85% bioethanol are now available in Europe. These vehicles are in widespread use in the USA, Brazil and, more recently, in Sweden.
• The Somerset Biofuels partnership involves Wessex Biofuels, Somerset County Council, Somerset and Avon Constabulary and Wessex Water in a project to introduce Ford Flexible Fuel Vehicles to this country
• The plant at Henstridge will produce 130 million litres of bioethanol per year, enough for one billion miles of motoring.

Source

Green Spirit Fuels, Pressrelease Jan. 12,2006.

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