Ups and downs in Somerset bioethanol project

In December, MindsinMotion.net reported on a successful initiative in the German city of Tübingen to produce, refine and use biodiesel from rape seed oil in one local, closed cycle.

Over five hundred miles away, in Somerset, UK, a similar scheme has been taking shape since 2005. As project manager Ian Bright explains, after some early set backs the project is beginning to pick up speed.

Ambition
The Somerset Biofuels Project started life as an ambition of Somerset County Council to produce bioethanol for transport fuel in the region. The idea came from the council’s renewable energy strategy, which aims for a twenty per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2010, and local grain producer Wessex Grain’s plans to build a bioethanol plant.

Focused
That initial ambition became a fully fledged project in January 2006, when it joined the Stockholm-based BioEthanol for Sustainable Transport (BEST) initiative. BEST is an EU-funded project that works with partners across Europe to prove the benefits of bioethanol as a road transport fuel.

“We had already decided to run a biofuel project and had engaged with the Ford motor company, and our partners Wessex Grain, Wessex Water, and Avon and Somerset Constabulary,” Ian Bright relates, “but it was joining BEST that really got us focused in terms of targets. We kicked the project off properly, with our first pumps installed and cars on the road in July 2006."

Potential
Somerset County Council was particularly interested in bioethanol because, explains Ian, the EU identifies it as the fuel with the greatest potential for immediate substitution in the transport fuels market. It is also the most abundant and easy to produce biofuel, giving more carbon emissions offset per hectare than biodiesel. Plus, a strong, sustainable farming industry without food shortage issues makes the UK - and Somerset in particular - a perfect location for bioethanol production.

Politicised
The first year after joining BEST was a great success for the project. Forty-one flexi-fuel vehicles were introduced to the council's fleet and five E85 biofuel pumps were installed in the area.

But, says Ian, when international media controversy flared up about whether biofuel crops were taking land from food crops, the project became highly politicised and several of the partners quietly backed away.

High price
At the same time, the continuing high price of biofuels, which in the UK are around twenty-five per cent more expensive than regular petrol per kilometre, was hindering the widespread take-up of bioethanol.

“The high price of biofuel has prevented volume sales,” says Ian. “While there is a certain PR benefit for companies to get involved with biofuel cars, the expense means there is little incentive for individuals. The combination of a high price and the media furore which suggested that biofuel cars were depriving poor people of food, means we haven’t been able to get any further than our initial actions.”

The tide is turning
Unable to put any further practical measures into operation, for the past year the Somerset Biofuels Project has focused on raising its profile locally, nationally and internationally.

But after twelve months of treading water, it seems there could be good news on the horizon. Looking to the future, Ian is hopeful that the tide is turning once again for biofuels. He believes that the UK has one of Europe’s best biofuel accreditation schemes, run by the Renewable Fuels Agency, and he is enthused by the fact that the oil companies are beginning to get into biofuels in a significant way. Building a local bioethanol plant may still be a long way off, particularly in the current economic climate, but progress of a kind is being made.

“There is evidence that the biofuel agenda is moving forward again. Bioethanol has a significant role to play in the delivery of the UK target of ten per cent renewable energy in transport by 2020. The oil companies are getting interested," he says. "Even though they’re not the natural champions of biofuels, they understand the role that biofuels will play in the transport fuel mix of the future and are investing in biofuel production.”

Ownership
Ian concludes: “It is hoped there will also be a role for local ownership of biofuel production plants, both in the UK and in developing countries. The socio-economic benefits to the rural economy of Somerset from a biofuel production plant are immense.”