First sugar beet ethanol plant opens in the UK
The first sugar beet-fueled ethanol production facility has opened in eastern England near Norfolk. The opening of the plant operated by British Sugar was attended by Britain's Minister for Sustainable Food and Farming and Animal Health Lord Rooker. The plant has a capacity of 18.5 million gallons a year from locally grown sugar beets. The British government is planning a new regulation next spring that would require five percent of all retail fuels to be from renewable sources and this plant will be a step toward achieving this.
[Source: General Motors]
BIOETHANOL PLANT'S A SWEET SUCCESS
Today (22 November), Lord Rooker, Minister for Sustainable Food and Farming and Animal Health opened British Sugar's state of the art bioethanol production facilities at Wissington, Norfolk.
The plant is the first of its kind in the UK. It produces bioethanol from locally-grown sugar beet and has an annual production capacity of 70 million litres; made from 110,000 tonnes of sugar that is surplus to the needs of the food market.
On declaring the plant open, Lord Rooker said: "These production facilities represent the marrying-up of British Agriculture and British Engineering Technology."
Bioethanol is 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 5% of all fuel to be sold on forecourts must be from renewable sources by 2010. The new plant at Wissington will contribute directly to reaching this target.
Jonathan Nash, Managing Director of Saab Great Britain, said: "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 and it is great to see British Sugar sourcing crops locally and maximising efficiency across their facility - it's clear that they are at the forefront of sustainable bioethanol production in the UK."
Speaking at the opening British Sugar Group Chief Executive, Mark Carr, said: "We are delighted to take the UK lead in this exciting new industry," adding, "the Wissington bioethanol project clearly demonstrates our ability to identify and develop opportunities in markets where we can add value."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jason Larsen 6:19PM (4/24/2009)
How does ethanol production from sugar beets compare to ethanol production from corn in terms of the amount of energy produced per acre, the amount of petroleum based fuel required to produce the crop, and the damage to arable soils by repeatedly growing beets vs. corn vs. responsible crop rotation?
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Chris M 8:27PM (4/24/2009)
Probably much better with beets, due to the fact that sugar beets need less fertilizer, and the ratio of usable carbohydrates to unusable residue is much better for beets.
The annual yield per acre is less than with sugar cane, but beets grow in climates unsuitable for tropical sugar cane.
Jason Larsen 2:23PM (4/25/2009)
Thanks for the input. I suspected as much, but I wasn't sure. I knew that sugar beets grew in climates unsuitable for sugar cane, because we grow them here in Montana. But I didn't know about the the fertilizer usage, I suspected the carbs were higher too, but considering how much corn syrup we consume I wasn't sure. Here in the U.S. it's the damn corn lobby that is keeping corn ethanol alive. I really wish we could kick them to the curb and persue sugar beet ethanol here, follow Britain's lead. Politics is preventing it.
rgseidl 6:16PM (11/23/2007)
Before you all complain about how this is competing with food production, bear in mind that the WTO forced the EU to sharply reduce subsidies for sugar beet growers a couple of years ago because the continent was dumping surplus production on the world market. France and Germany are Europe's primary sugar producers.
Sugar from locally grown beets still costs twice as much as Brazilian cane sugar, in part because the beets must be processed within 24 hours of harvesting lest the glucose is converted into starch. Also, as elsewhere in the developed world, food & feed production plus downstream industries represent some 20% of GDP. That's too many votes votes and campaign finance contributions for any politician to ignore. Ergo, it's not a question of whether European farmers will continue to receive subsidies but rather, for what.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4118448.stm
European sugar beet farmers have been looking for other ways to earn a living and, bioethanol is one option. Biobutanol may become another. Farmers that had switched to rapeseed as a biodiesel feedstock were faced with a glut after the new German government ended an overly generous tax break for biodiesel.
http://www.truthabouttrade.org/article.asp?id=7810
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GreyFlcn 9:38AM (11/24/2007)
Heh, why go for the food-fuel argument when you can go for the pollution and toxics argument?
http://greyfalcon.net/ethanol2
http://greyfalcon.net/n2ostudy.png
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GreyFlcn 9:42AM (11/24/2007)
Also fuel-versus-food isn't really an argument either.
It's more of a fuel-versus-rainforrest which you have to worry about.
Since Brazil, Agentina, Indonesia, and other tropical countries are filling up that unmet food demand with new supply. Consequently destroying vast tracts of carbon storing land.
http://greyfalcon.net/soy2
http://greyfalcon.net/tropics3
http://greyfalcon.net/cerrado
http://greyfalcon.net/ran
http://greyfalcon.net/palmoil
http://greyfalcon.net/peat
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