A York company is in a crucial phase of bringing clean wood power to the people.

Renewable Fuels Ltd, based in Escrick, is processing harvested wood chips from Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) willow supplied by North and East Yorkshire growers at a new wood grinding plant at Pollington, near Goole.

The resulting ground-down five millimetre long powder-like wood particles will be used at Drax Power Station, Selby, for the UK's first-ever full-scale trials of co-firing SRC willow with coal.

The hope is that the carbon-neutral wood will displace about 10,000 tonnes of coal thereby ultimately preventing thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide being needlessly hurled into the atmosphere where it contributes towards global warming.

Renewable Fuels, which is now negotiating with other British power stations, estimates that Drax could reduce its CO2 emissions by about 700,000 tonnes a year by sprinkling SRC powder on to coal.

The company hopes to establish 20,000 hectares in Yorkshire by 2011 - more than enough

The process spells hope both for farmers who can get more for SRC growing per tonne than for wheat and other food crops; and for power stations, which have been charged by the Government with finding ways of increasing use of energy crops for biomass coal firing to 75 per cent by 2011 or face fines.

Bob Smith, the managing director of Renewable Fuels Ltd, who has 25 years' experience in the forest and sawmill industry and the biomass industry in the UK, established the company in 2002.

It is now part of the £2 billion turnover Lantmnnen Group, an umbrella of companies funded by a co-operative of 52,000 Swedish farmers with multinational business interests.

He said: "Our grinding plant completes the cycle of fuel supply, proving that harvested crops can now be processed into materials that are suitable for end-user demands."

The firm's contracts manager, Andy Oldridge, said: "SRC willow can provide a low intensive, low capital and high yielding crop with a sustainable market," adding that gross margins for wheat at £27 per hectare per year compares with more than £100 for SRC, including a £30 per hectare annual Engery Crop Scheme Grant for non set aside land.

The wood processing at Pollington is supported by Yorkshire Forward, the regional development agency. The building is being leased by Renewable Fuels Ltd from Northern Straw Ltd which is also providing the logistics to supply the material into Drax Power Station.

Would-be growers can phone Renewable Fuels at 01904 720575.

Updated: 09:47 Tuesday, March 08, 2005