Firm proposes biofuel plant

Carlow: The head of a company interested in building a biofuel plant at the closed Carlow Sugar Factory said it could have the first phase of the project up and running within 15 months if it was given the go-ahead and the necessary planning permission.

Losonoco chief executive Alan Banks said the plant would create 60 direct and 250 indirect jobs and would generate around stg£15 million in annual payments to farmers for crops.

The plant would have 750,000 tons per year processing capacity - 400,000 tons of sugar beet, 200,000 tons of agricultural waste and 150,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW).