| The
Northern Echo
12th September 2006
A BIOFUELS company last night said it was building
a £100m plant on Teesside which will create
almost 300 direct and spin-off jobs, The Northern
Echo can reveal.
The firm is understood to be one of about seven companies
looking at building bioethanol plants on Teesside,
which is fast becoming a hub for renewable fuels companies.
Losonoco's facility will turn mostly wheat and some
straw into ethanol, which can then be used to power
vehicles.
Stephen Bean, Losonoco's director of business developments,
said the plant would create 80 direct jobs and about
200 indirect jobs.
"We are looking to establish our first wheat-to-ethanol
plant in the UK on Teesside," he said.
"Everyone we have dealt with in the region so
far has been very supportive."
Losonoco intends to source the 1,000 tonnes of wheat
needed every day to run the plant from suppliers in
the North-East. The plant will produce approximately
190 million litres of ethanol each year.
Dermot Roddy, chief executive of Renew Tees Valley,
the body set up to champion the renewable fuels sector
in Teesside, said there were about seven companies
interested in building bioethanol plants in the region.
"They are looking at Teesside, but not all of
them have come to a final decision so we have to strike
while the iron is hot," he said.
Biofuels company Vireol, based in Stokesley, North
Yorkshire, confirmed earlier this year that it intends
to build an £80m bioethanol plant on Teesside,
although plans are still at the negotiation stage.
Both Vireol and Losonoco were among companies attending
the fifth European Motor Biofuels Forum, in Gateshead,
yesterday.
North-East Biofuels chairman John Reynolds, who is
a key speaker at the conference, which ends tomorrow,
said companies would be wise to invest in the region.
"Teesside has a major port, which is important
for firms looking to operate in a European or global
market, and there is also a lot of storage capacity,"
he said.
"Plus, Teesside is already a major industrial
area, which can make investment cheaper."
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