Ensus is building Europe’s largest wheat refinery at Wilton in Teesside, intending to meet one third of the UK’s bioethanol demand.
Biofuels help combat climate change because the crops from which they are produced absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. Carbon dioxide is released as they are burned, but absorbed by new crops again, making a complete cycle.
There will undeniably be a huge impact on the UK’s wheat producing farmers and concern about how they will cope in years of poor harvest. Even environmental campaigners, Friends of the Earth are claiming that the potential deforestation to produce new farmland is just not worth it. Ensus insists however that the wheat supply will be provided by EU countries only and will also contribute to animal feed, therefore reducing the need for soya meal which comes from areas of deforestation.
So are biofuels worthwhile? On the positive side, they massively reduce carbon emissions and are cheap to the consumer. On the negative side they could result in deforestation and the destruction of animal habitats. In addition to this, biofuel production is not yet energy efficient.
Do we need to look at the bigger picture and regard biofuels as a work in progress, living in hope that this is a step in the right direction?
St Osmund’s Middle School in Dorchester is proud to be the first school in the South West region to have a wood fuel boiler fitted.
After the schools two 233KW gas boilers broke down it was time to consider an alternative. With the assistance from the Energy Team at Dorset County Council and the South West Bioheat Programme a renewable energy boiler was installed which is equipped to supply and meet all the energy needs of the school.
A biomass boiler uses wood fuel from sustainably managed woodland, biodegradable crops, wastes and residues. The head teacher is delighted as it will save costs in the long term, reduce carbon emissions and teach the children about alternative fuels.
St Osmund’s regard themselves as trailblazers as they are the first Dorset school to have a woodchip biomass boiler installed. The project has consolidated their position within ‘Eco Schools’, which is an award scheme where schools compete to achieve a high ranking in terms of their sustainability.
The south west currently has 30 MW of biomass heat installed, the highest number of biomass boilers in England and the second largest amount of woodland resources after the south east, which makes it ideally placed to grow this sector of renewable energy. Definitely something to be encouraged!
It has been one year since the biofuel eco-boat Earthrace won the round-the-world powerboat speed record. The previous record holder was conventionally fuelled Cable and Wireless Adventurer. Incredibly Earthrace took almost two weeks off their time.
The trimaran set off from Sagunto, Spain on 27th April 2008, travelling 23.497 nautical miles. It was fuelled entirely by 100% biofuel and took 60 days and 49 minutes to cross the finishing line back in Spain.
We all know the arguments against using biofuels: devastation of rainforest and wildlife rich wilderness areas, so in the interest of clarity, be assured that the fuel was derived from waste cooking oils or canola oil grown in Europe.
Peter Bethune, skipper and founder of Earthrace showed that it is possible for a marine craft fuelled on biofuels alone, to travel faster and more efficiently across the world’s oceans, than any vessel using conventional fuels.
Surely it time for global governments to start investing in funding further research into alternative and sustainable fuel production together with serious legislation that will limit the damage caused by conventional fuels?