from todays irish paper
THE Larry Goodman-owned Irish Food Processors (IFP) is to invest in a new plant which will convert animal fat into diesel, the company announced yesterday.
The company said a location for the new plant has yet to be chosen, with provisional sites in Ireland and the UK already under examination.
Neither would it disclose the level of its investment, but it said the project will be financed out of its own resources. The plant will create between 30 and 40 new jobs, with a further 15 to 20 involved in support services, a spokesman said.
IFP has spent three years studying the concept and said its new facility will be the largest of its type in Europe, capable of converting animal fat into 110m litres of biodiesel annually. The diesel produced at the plant will be capable of powering diesel engine vehicles with no modification, the IFP spokesman said.
In a statement issued yesterday, the company insisted that it would prefer to locate the facility in Ireland, but a final decision will depend on the level of tax supports available, something which will not become clear until the Department of Marine, Communications and Natural Resources publishes its plans for supports.
Awaits
"IFP wishes to locate Europe's largest animal fat biodiesel facility in Ireland, and eagerly awaits the publication of the Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources scheme," it said.
At present, tax reliefs here are available for about one million litres of biodiesel production annually, well below the projected capacity of the IFP plant. The UK sets no limit on the amount of biodiesel that can be set against tax.
Britain yesterday signalled increased target for biofuels use, to 10pc by 2015. The EU is encouraging governments to cut the level of taxation on biodiesel, which normally sells at a slight premium to normal diesel. It is also demanding that member states replace 5.7pc of normal fossil fuel consumption with renewable sources.
THE Larry Goodman-owned Irish Food Processors (IFP) is to invest in a new plant which will convert animal fat into diesel, the company announced yesterday.
The company said a location for the new plant has yet to be chosen, with provisional sites in Ireland and the UK already under examination.
Neither would it disclose the level of its investment, but it said the project will be financed out of its own resources. The plant will create between 30 and 40 new jobs, with a further 15 to 20 involved in support services, a spokesman said.
IFP has spent three years studying the concept and said its new facility will be the largest of its type in Europe, capable of converting animal fat into 110m litres of biodiesel annually. The diesel produced at the plant will be capable of powering diesel engine vehicles with no modification, the IFP spokesman said.
In a statement issued yesterday, the company insisted that it would prefer to locate the facility in Ireland, but a final decision will depend on the level of tax supports available, something which will not become clear until the Department of Marine, Communications and Natural Resources publishes its plans for supports.
Awaits
"IFP wishes to locate Europe's largest animal fat biodiesel facility in Ireland, and eagerly awaits the publication of the Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources scheme," it said.
At present, tax reliefs here are available for about one million litres of biodiesel production annually, well below the projected capacity of the IFP plant. The UK sets no limit on the amount of biodiesel that can be set against tax.
Britain yesterday signalled increased target for biofuels use, to 10pc by 2015. The EU is encouraging governments to cut the level of taxation on biodiesel, which normally sells at a slight premium to normal diesel. It is also demanding that member states replace 5.7pc of normal fossil fuel consumption with renewable sources.
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