Agriculture Minister Elliot Morley will be touring Europe's first wood-fuelled power station currently under construction in Eggborough, North Yorkshire, tomorrow. (Thursday, February 3).
Before being shown around the plant, the MP for Scunthorpe will unveil the Government's vision for agriculture and the rural economy in Yorkshire and Humberside, contained in the regional chapter of the England Rural Development Plan.
The ARBRE (Arable Biomass Renewable Energy) project - which is a unique joint venture led by First Renewables Ltd, part Kelda Plc - will use willow grown on farmland across the north of England to generate gas to drive the station's electricity-producing turbines.
When the £28 million "new generation" power station becomes fully operational, it will produce 10 Megawatts of electricity, 8MW of which will be exported to the local grid - enough to meet the daily demands of more than 33,500 people.
ARBREs director Keith Pitcher said: "This power station will be the first of its kind in Europe producing electricity in a sustainable way. ARBRE will burn wood chippings and, because the same amount of carbon dioxide is released during combustion as was converted into biomass during growth, it's a far cleaner alternative to the fossil fuelled stations of old.
"This week the Government published its conclusions in response to the public consultation on new and renewable energy. It is keen to develop other projects of this kind fuelled from energy crops and First Renewables plans to develop this opportunity throughout the UK.
"The ARBRE project alone will provide rural employment both at the power station and in the growing and supply of wood chips."
So far more than 8,000 tonnes of wood has been stockpiled at an airfield near ARBRE, and this will be used once electricity production commences.
ARBRE's fuel supply manager Barbara Hilton said: "We have 500 hectares of willow coppice under plantation in Yorkshire, north Nottinghamshire, north Lincolnshire and north Derbyshire, and we are constantly seeking out more land for planting.
"The farming community has shown a lot of interest in growing willow coppices and we will plant a further 600 hectares this coming spring. Our target is to have planted 2000 hectares by 2002."
