Stockton team land key role

The Stockton-on-Tees office of international project management and cost consultants Faithful+Gould is celebrating its appointment to a project which will see the development of the UK’s first large-scale bioethanol production facility.
The project marks a major step towards enabling the UK to meet its EU biofuel obligations. Faithful+Gould has been brought on board by Yarm based company Ensus (UK Ltd), which is to build the plant in Wilton in the North East, creating 800 jobs during the construction phase and a further 100 permanent jobs when production begins in 2009.

The facility will convert over 1 million tonnes of wheat per year into ethanol – a clear, colourless liquid that can be blended with petrol for use in cars and lorries without any need for modifications to the engine.

Faithful+Gould will provide commercial and cost management support to the implementation phase of the project between April and the first quarter of 2009. Its duties will include managing the payments process, ensuring that the construction project control is administered effectively, setting up and managing the change control system as well as assisting in planning and carrying out project audits.

Dennis Edwards, Regional Director of Faithful+Gould, said: “We have significant experience of delivering core services on high profile industrial projects and our skills in this area have proved to be increasingly in demand as the regional economy is further bolstered by significant industrial investment.

“This project has seen our team build on a previously established relationship with Ensus, with which we have a good working relationship. Our team is delighted to be working on such a prestigious project, which will have a tremendous impact in meeting the country’s carbon emissions reduction targets.

“Teesside, which is already home to a number of biodiesel firms, is fast making its name as the fuels capital of the UK. This industrial expansion is set to further expand the local market and Faithful+Gould is extremely well placed to service it.”

The Ensus plant will produce bioethanol using established technology to ferment and distil wheat grain. The ethanol produced will be water soluble, bio-degradable and non-toxic and will result in improved air quality, lower carbon emissions and a reduction in green house gas emissions.