Member Article

Tees Valley set for biofuels boom

Within two to three years the Tees Valley could be producing almost as much of the green fuel bioethanol as the current output of the entire European Union, according to Doctor Dermot Roddy, Chief Executive of Renew Tees Valley. Since mid-September four companies have announced plans to invest a total of around £400million in bioethanol plants in the Tees Valley and Doctor Roddy says they are currently in discussions with three other potential investors.

The region’s ambitions also received a major boost when Tees Valley Biofuels secured planning permission to build the UK’s first large scale oilseed crushing plant for more than a generation at Seal Sands. The £47m plant will be capable of processing more than 500,000 tonnes a year of locally grown oilseed rape.

Doctor Roddy said: “Whilst we have been working on many of those projects for a considerable time, it is in the last few months where we have seen many starting to come to fruition – and the coming year also promises further developments which will further strengthen Tees Valley’s position as the UK’s key centre for renewable energy technology and production.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .