Bioethanol plant opens

Lord Rooker, minister for sustainable food and farming and animal health, opened

bioethanol production facilities at Wissington in

yesterday.

The plant, said to be the first of its kind in the UK, produces bioethanol from locally grown sugar beet and has an annual production capacity of 70 million litres made from 110,000 tonnes of surplus sugar.

Bioethanol is being promoted as 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 five per cent of all fuel sold at petrol stations must be from renewable sources by 2010.

‘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,’ said Jonathan Nash, managing director of Saab Great Britain.