20th February 2007

Grimsby MP Austin Mitchell has given his support to the emerging energy developments on the Humber bank.

He toured the proposed site for Green Spirit Fuels' plant on land currently owned by Huntsman, and was told of the excellent synergies that will come to the fore, allowing several businesses to flourish.

As announced last month, Green Spirit Fuels is one of four companies looking at bringing bioethanol production to this area.

The wheat derivative is soon to be used as a part-replacement for petrol in cars, and with the major port and raw material so close, northern Lincolnshire has emerged as the hub of development.

Austin Mitchell and Dave Portas

Mr. Mitchell said: "Any interest in North East Lincolnshire that creates long term secure employment must be encouraged. Green energy developments close to the locally grown grain supply are essential if we are to meet the Road Transport Fuel Obligation minimum of 5 per cent of green fuel by 2010.The synergies to Huntsman, RWE npower and Green Spirit Fuels, of the GSF bioethanol plant will create mutual business benefits. This is an important development locally and nationally. We must make every effort to make it a reality."

RWE npower operates the combined heat and power plant on the site, and that was a major attraction to Green Spirit Fuels.

John Waltham, director for development with the company, said: "I have personally visited half a dozen sites on the Humber bank, and nationally about 50, and I have no doubt that the land currently owned by Huntsman represents by far the best opportunity for the Green Spirit Fuels venture in the Humber Bank area. The reasons are the great synergies between us and those on the site, which has a super capacity in terms of the ability to generate heat and power, and these are things that need to be used to the maximum to get the best economic benefit. That makes life a lot easier than developing a green field site where planning would be more of an issue as well, when compared to using an existing industrial site."

Green Spirit Fuels, the company behind what will be the first bioethanol plant to come on stream in Somerset, has produced a map of Great Britain showing the concentration of the growth of wheat, which also explains why this area is proving so popular, with the congestion-free road links and a deep water port also major bonuses.

Mr. Waltham added: "In Lincolnshire, and around The Wash and The Fens, we have the area of greatest concentration of wheat growing in the country."

With a deal in place with Gleadell Agriculture for wheat supply, Mr. Waltham sees the whole operation as a "win, win", as work on the planning application continues.

The other key stakeholders are RWE npower and Huntsman. Richard Bonsall, RWE npower's senior asset development manager, said: "We are delighted to support this potential investment by Green Spirit Fuels. This will allow RWE npower to extend the use of the existing CHP plant on the Grimsby site to support both the Huntsman Pigments and Green Spirit Fuels operations."

Paul Dalton, site manager at Huntsman, added: "Huntsman Pigments is supportive of products and processes that are energy efficient and contribute to protect the environment. We see this as an exciting development."

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