Trade groups weigh in on closure of Greenergy biodiesel plant in Immingham, UK

Greenergy announced May 20 the temporary suspension of operations at its biodiesel plant in Immingham, North East England.

The company said it is conducting a strategic review to evaluate the plant’s commercial viability amid “the significant challenges currently facing the U.K. biofuels industry.”

Greenergy added that, “despite implementing significant cost-reduction measures at Immingham, market conditions remain unsupportive.”

The company said all staff at the site will remain employed throughout the review period.

Greenergy added that it will be working closely with its staff during this time.

“Greenergy’s announcement of a temporary shutdown at its Immingham biodiesel plant marks another major blow to the U.K.’s renewable fuels sector,” stated the European Waste-based & Advanced Biofuels Association. “EWABA has long cautioned that policy inaction and missteps are driving domestic production to the brink, even as the U.K. and Europe seek to position themselves as green energy leaders. Without urgent reform, the U.K. risks losing all domestic renewable fuel production.”

EWABA outlined key challenges faced by the U.K. biofuels industry, including:

• Stagnant renewable transport fuel obligation (RTFO) targets that need a significant and immediate boost.

• Tariff-free biofuels imports under trade deals and inward processing.

• Dumped and subsidized biofuels from China and the U.S., displacing U.K.-made fuels.

Another trade group, the Renewable Transport Fuel Association, added that examples of challenges the U.K. industry faces include:

• Allowing coproducts to double count towards meeting the RTFO, thus halving its impact or making motorists pay twice as much for the same environmental benefit.

• Allowing renewable fuels to enter the U.K. tariff free (either via inward processing or most recently the tariff-free quota under the U.S.-U.K. trade deal agreed to May 8).

• Not increasing the RTFO targets.

• An influx of subsidized and dumped biofuels from China.

• An influx of subsidized and dumped renewable diesel from the U.S.

The RTFA offered remedies to correct the market conditions, including:

• Reversing the decision to regard unrefined liquid dextrose ultrafiltration retentate (ULDUR) as a waste, upon which government recently consulted. This decision is needed immediately, along with an announcement that all other bioethanol feedstocks with double-counting status will be reviewed.

• Significantly increase the RTFO target, move it onto a greenhouse-gas (GHG) basis rather than a volumetric basis.

• Take measures to increase the demand for high blends of biodiesel and bioethanol.

• Amend the U.K.’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate to make feedstocks used for bioethanol production eligible.

The announcement from Greenergy followed the closure of the Argent Energy Motherwell plant last year, “with bioethanol producers now warning they may be next,” RTFA stated.

“Urgent action is needed across government if we are to retain domestic renewable fuel manufacture and not be entirely reliant on imports,” RTFA said. “There’s been a catalogue of damaging decisions over recent years, all of which were preventable and can be remedied, but time is running out. This comes at a bad time when government is setting out its stall as a green-energy superpower and aiming to encourage new renewable fuel production for aviation.”