Green light for bioethanol plant

The bioethanol plant would be similar to this one in America

Permission has been granted in Somerset for the construction of a bioethanol plant producing clean fuel from grain.

The refinery, to be built by Green Spirit Fuels at Henstridge, will be capable of turning out about 100,000 tonnes of fuel each year.

Bi-products from the process include animal feed and carbon dioxide (CO2) that can be bottled for industrial use.

The plant will contribute towards a requirement for all road fuel to contain 5% bio-fuel by 2010.

South Somerset planners voted unanimously in favour of the project.

The fuel company's managing director Malcolm Shepherd said: "This will confirm the South West as the leading region in renewable and sustainable energy.

"[It] will contribute not just to the health of the environment but also to the well-being of the farming community."