Brakes on green target
Apr 15 2009 by Evening Gazette
A TEES Valley biofuels boss says investment in the industry is being curtailed by a Government slowdown on targets, exactly a year since a UK green fuels obligation was brought in.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) was launched on April 15 last year to speed up the rate at which green fuels were introduced to UK petrol and diesel.
The change signalled a landmark in the delivery of renewable fuels in the UK - but the Government put the brakes on earlier this year, lowering the green fuels target in the UK from 3.75% to 3.25%.
Alwyn Hughes, CEO of Ensus, the company behind a 400 million litre bioethanol plant on Teesside, said his company could invest more if the industry wasn’t held back by targets. The Wilton plant, which will come online later this year, will become the biggest producer of the green fuel in Europe.
“The RTFO is a mixed bag,” he said. “It’s positive that we now have biofuels in the UK and we’re measuring good versus bad biofuels. But it’s disappointing and frustrating that targets have been slowed at a time when we need to be better, faster, stronger at tackling climate change.
“We have the solutions in the North-east and we could do a lot more but we’re being curtailed by the Government.”
Richard Nickels, CEO of Tees Valley-based North East Biofuels, the North-east's only biodiesel producer, said: "RTFO is a world-leading scheme, which continues to offer great promise - as long as the Government resists the temptation to fiddle.
"Biofuels are one of many answers to our national need for sustainable energy and we need all of them. Teesside is a centre of excellence for biofuels - let it succeed."
But despite the slowdown, the North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) is confident the future for the biofuels industry in the North-east remains bright.
John Brady, senior project manager for biofuels and biorefining at NEPIC, said: “The North-east has a vision of becoming an internationally significant hub for the biofuels industry, accessing national and world markets.
“I am convinced the region will create the opportunities necessary for the region to meet its vision, and stimulate a dynamic local market which will continue to attract investment based on the latest biofuel technology.”
The Vivergo plant in Hull, which will also produce bioethanol from wheat, is due to open by 2010.
