Argent Energy, the Scottish renewable energy group, which is credited with having created the world’s largest biodiesel plant, is preparing to float early next year. It is expecting to raise £35 million to help it in its construction of two new power plants in England.
This plan for floatation comes in the wake of a new ruling which states that by 2010 around 5 per cent of fuel sold on UK forecourts has to come from a renewable source.
Argent has started production of biodiesel fuel from used cooking oil and animal fat in March this year at its Motherwell plant. It cancelled its original flotation plan in August because of doubts over the legislative framework that would be framed in the UK.
The time lag in the floatation plans has helped the company to shore up its operating capacity in the £15 million worth Lanarkshire plant to 40,000 tonnes a year. Argent is a wholly owned subsidiary of Argent Group, where venture capital firm Cinven holds a stake of 60 per cent.
Only last week, Alistair Darling, transport secretary, flagged off an initiative known as the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation, which is expected save around one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions in 2010. These emissions are equivalent to having one million cars off the roads.
The new legislation might increase biofuel sales by 20-fold from current levels. This could mark the beginning of a new era in biodiesel fuel sector in the UK. As of now, biodiesel is available at over 100 UK filling stations. However, it accounts only for 0.1 per cent of total diesel sales and less than 0.05 per cent sales of petrol and diesel combined.
Argent is planning to invest in two more plants in the United Kingdom and mulling over one in New Zealand. Argent Energy vice-chairman Jim Walker said the company is looking at potential new sites in the northwest and east of England for this purpose.
Sounding optimistic, he added: “It seems increasingly likely we’ll build a bigger plant than the 50,000 tonne one we intended. It could be double that capacity and could cost between £20m and £25m.” He welcomed Mr. Darling’s initiative and said: “Darling’s announcement has given a real stimulus to the biodiesel market.”
The biodiesel market uses variety of raw materials including palm oil and rapeseed oil.
Posted
on : Mon, 14 Nov 2005 13:55 GMT | Business News
By : Paula Jenkins
|
