NTR’s US bio-ethanol vehicle Green Plains Renewable Energy is to become the fourth largest ethanol producer in the United States after acquiring two Nebraska plants for $123.5 million (€91.8m).

President George Bush today ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for fuel, making it easier for refiners to meet demand and possibly dampen prices at the petrol pumps.

Farmers, businesses and the state are investing millions of dollars in ethanol and biofuel plants as renewable energy sources, but a new study says the alternative fuels burn more energy than they produce.