Agri praised for Liverpool biodiesel investment

The UKs largest biodiesel plant was opened in Bootle, Liverpool today (May 9) by transport minister Norman Baker.

The plant, developed by renewable energy firm Agri, will process used cooking oil to create biodiesel which can then be used in vehicles.

The opening of the plant follows a multi-million pound investment in biodiesel production by Agri and is the culmination of a six-year project to develop a service which sees it collect used cooking oil from customers and turning it into a high quality fuel.

One of the successes of Agri is understood to be the ability to deliver a quality fuel from used cooking oil, a process which has a number of challenges.

Specification

The plant will produce up to 16 million litres of EN14214 biodiesel every year; a European specification which Agri said is not often achievable when used cooking oil is used as a feedstock.

The feedstock for the plant will come from Agri’s national customer base which includes over 50,000 food manufacturers, retailers and caterers.

At the opening of the plant Mr Baker said: I am pleased to be able to open Agris biodiesel plant, the largest plant dedicated to the production of biodiesel made from used cooking oil in the UK. The investment made by Agri and projects like this can help the UK meet its ambitious carbon reduction targets while creating green jobs to rebuild the economy.

The minister highlighted the importance of biofuels and added: “Sustainable biofuels have an important role to play in our efforts to tackle climate change, particularly where there is no viable alternative fuel identified. Biodiesel produced from used cooking oil can be one of the most sustainable biofuels and I am also pleased to see, through administration of the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation, the progress that has been made by UK biofuel suppliers in the auditing of the sustainability of the biofuels they supply.

Solution

Agri said that the plant has also been designed to maximise its carbon efficiency savings. Commenting on the plants efficiency Eddie OReilly, Agris biodiesel plant manager, said: By using ISO 14064 methods we can measure the carbon footprint of our biodiesel to show at least 90% less greenhouse gas emissions when compared to regular mineral diesel. This makes it the most sustainable type of biodiesel in the world.

The company explained that itoffers customers a closed loop solution to meet their customers energy needs. Adam Baisley, head of business development at Agri, said: Customers are looking to create value out of the resources that Agri can recover. That value comes in both cost savings as well as carbon reduction.

In February this year, Agri announced it was launching its own food waste collection service.