UK opens first bioethanol plant

Following Gordon Brown's announcement on Monday that he intends to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, Hilary Benn will today open the first bioethanol plant in the UK - signalling the Government's continuing support for biofuels as key contributor to reducing carbon emissions.

Clare Wenner, head of biofuel for Transport at the Renewable Energy Association (REA), said: "This is a first class example of how biofuel should be produced and now we need to replicate this across the UK and the world. This is the way forward."

The plant intends to produce 70m litres of bioethanol annually, which will be available in garages across the country. This will be an important step towards getting 5% of our road fuel as biofuel by 2010 - which would be the equivalent to taking nearly one million cars off the road.

The new plant, run by British Sugar in Norfolk, has been hailed by the REA as a major breakthrough.