Industry News
Greenergy biodiesel plant begins commercial production
2nd April 2007
Greenergy's biodiesel plant in north-east England began commercial production on Friday 30 March, and should ramp up to full capacity of 100,000 tonnes/year in a couple of weeks, according to the company. The plant refines biodiesel from rapeseed oil, palm oil and soya oil. Chief Executive Robert Owens told Reuters that the second phase, which should take capacity to 200,000 tonnes is on schedule to be completed in November.
Mr Owens said Greenergy was comfortable with current margins on biodiesel production, unlike rivals Biofuels Corp plc and D1 Oils, which are reported to use more expensive refined vegetable oils as feedstocks than Greenergy, which may use as much as 10% of the UK’s total rapeseed crop.
A rival Spanish bioenergy plant, Abengoa, recently announced its own plans for a new, larger, biodiesel refining plant at Immingham, which already hosts two conventional oil refineries.
Mr. Owens said Greenergy is now looking at a further three biodiesel projects, one in Britain and two outside Europe, but cast doubt on the viability of bioethanol production in Europe, where energy efficiency using wheat could reach only 20% compared to 80% for Brazilian sugar cane production. Scientists were reported today by the BBC to have judged that the EU and national governments’ biofuels usage targets were ‘ahead of the science’ and could ultimately be responsible for degradation of the global environment.
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