White renews call for bio refinery in Carlow - Create local jobs says Deputy Leader
Issued: 13 April 2005
12 April 2005
Green Party Deputy Leader Councillor Mary White is spearheading the Green Party campaign to replace the Carlow sugar factory with a biofuels refinery.
Cllr White said today, ?A bio refinery would support local industry and create long-term sustainable jobs for our region.It would be a thriving new industry for Carlow and the south east, which is a particular economic blackspot at the moment.?
?I believe there is now a pressing need to attract a bio refinery to Carlow to underpin a major part of the rural economy by supporting sustainable agriculture to feed a biofuel plant in the county. Fuel from Carlow farms would provide added income, employment and rural and urban prosperity. Never has the time been more suitable. Carlow has the land bank, farmers are eager to diversify and the town itself is crying out for a dynamic new industry.?
?A bio refinery could make Carlow a centre of excellence in what is considered a major new long-term sustainable industrial sector. There is also the pressing need to comply with the Biofuels Directive (2003) which states that biofuels must reach 2% of all transport and heating fuels sold by 2005,? concluded Cllr White.
Cllr White is hosting a conference on biofuels in Carlow next Wednesday April 20.