Government gives bioethanol a boost

Secretary of State for the Environment, David Miliband, paid a visit to Teeside on Friday as work began on a new £250 million bioethanol production plant.

Mr Miliband was transported to and from the site in a Saab 9-5 BioPower, a revolutionary vehicle that runs on bioethanol E85 and has the potential to reduce fossil CO2 emissions by between 50 and 70 per cent.

Mr Miliband witnessed the groundlaying ceremony at the plant, which will be the UK’s largest bioethanol factory, producing some 400 million litres of bioethanol a year from home-grown wheat. Bioethanol is blended with petrol to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from transport.

In a recent ministerial speech, Mr Miliband said that the UK must consider the move to a post-oil economy and added that transport would be the biggest challenge. But he pointed to Brazil, where three-quarters of cars run on ethanol as proof that it would not be insurmountable.