First English ethanol plant opens

In England, British Sugar opened the first English ethanol plant. The Wissington facility has a production capacity of 18 Mgy of ethanol made from sugar beets. The plant adjoins a sugar processing facility that will provide energy for the ethanol process.

Earlier this year, the EU approved plans by BP and Associated British Foods to construct a 111 Mgy ethanol plant in Hull, scheduled to be online in 2009. The Hull plant, in contrast to Wissington,  will use wheat as a feedstock.

In the UK, the government has established a Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO), which takes effect in April 2008. The Obligation mandates that, by 2010, five per cent of all fuel sold in the UK must be from renewable sources.

The Government recently revised its costs and carbon savings from the proposed implementation of the RTFO. The cost has risen 87% to $760 per ton of carbon emission saved based on an estimated carbon savings of 700,000-800,000 tonnes. The RTFO imposes a 2.5 percent biofuel mandate in 2008, increasing to 5 percent in 2010.

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