Rubbish to provide green fuel for planes by 2014

London, Feb 16 (ANI): British Airways (BA) is planning to establish Europe's first green jet fuel plant that would turn rubbish into carbon-neutral aviation fuel by the year 2014.

According to a report in The Independent, British Airways would establish the plant, in collaboration with the US bioenergy company Solena.

When it is up and running in 2014, the factory will turn 500,000 tonnes of landfill waste - including household and industrial rubbish - into 16 million gallons of carbon-neutral aviation fuel every year.

It will produce enough fuel to power all of BA's flights from nearby City Airport twice over.

With 95 per cent fewer emissions than traditional kerosene, the plan will be equivalent to taking 48,000 cars off the roads.

There are four sites under consideration for the plant, which will be built and run by Washington DC-based Solena, with BA guaranteed to buy all of its output.

Alongside the reduction in carbon from the jet fuel itself, it will also cut the methane produced from landfill and generate 20 megawatts of electricity per year as a byproduct.

Biofuel for aeroplanes has made slow progress, hampered by tricky technicalities including the necessary high energy capacity, and the extreme cold at which it must operate.

BA's rival Virgin conducted the first commercial flight powered by biofuel in February 2008, and last January saw the first algae-fuelled jet take off from Houston.

But the fuel to be produced at Solena's east London plant will be altogether different.

Rather than existing types that must be blended with normal fossil fuel jet fuel, Solena is aiming for a green fuel sufficient to fly the aircraft without any jet fuel added.

According to BA's chief executive, Willie Walsh, the scheme will help BA to meet its target to cut net carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2050.

"We believe it will lead to the production of a real sustainable alternative to jet kerosene," he said.

The London Mayor, Boris Johnson, is also behind the plan, which will source as much of its waste material from local rubbish as possible.

City Hall wants to "untap the massive potential to generate cleaner, less polluting energy from waste, otherwise destined for landfill", Johnson said, adding, "We are working to bring together more organisations in this way to harvest the capital's rubbish."

BA is adamant that the plant will be powered only by rubbish, and will not resort to using biomass crops grown specifically to be turned into fuel. (ANI)