Ensus Closure

Early in April the Ensus bioethanol plant in Teesside announced closure for the third time.  The company announced that the shutdown was caused by ‘continuing adverse market conditions’ which hadn’t been accounted for in the business plan.  The poor 2012 wheat harvest, which had an impact on quality, also played a part in the closure.  Some have suggested the lack of commercial deal on the carbon dioxide by-product and lack of pelleting facilities for the animal feed component have also contributed to the plant’s problems, but these comments are unconfirmed.   Ensus has been importing maize to process in its facility.  Others in the industry suggest that the Vivergo plant in Hull may face the same fate for similar reasons.  A lot of greenhouse gasses have been used in the construction of these factories, so a lot of biofuel needs to be created to offer any kind of sustainability saving. We cannot yet call it a sustainable product!