BA’s £340m green fuels project fails to take off

British Airways (BA) has claimed that a lack of government support has forced it to shelve a £340 million scheme to create 16m gallons of jet fuel from London’s rubbish every year.

The Green Sky project was originally due to open in 2017 in Thurrock, Essex, at an ex-oil refinery where it was planned to turn into gas 575,000 tonnes of household waste otherwise destined for landfill sites or incinerators - rumoured to be enough to power all BA yearly flights from London City Airport twice over.

However, as explained in the Guardian, the plan has been scrapped due to a lack of discussion and policy engagement from Westminster.

BA spokeswoman Cathy West said: “The government needs to support innovative aviation biofuels projects such as this if they are to progress. Aviation fuels are not eligible for incentives that road transport fuels receive, making it difficult to build a business case to invest in UK aviation fuels projects. This affects investor confidence.”

The Shadow Transport Minister, Richard Burden, who has pledged to table parliamentary questions about the affair, commented: “At a time when the government has delayed a decision on Heathrow and Gatwick partly for environmental reasons, it is ludicrous that the government is not backing the industry’s attempts to deliver cleaner fuels.”