A new £47.8m power plant in Birmingham is set to use biomass as a fuel.

The 10.3MW plant in Tyseley will be built by the construction arm of US firm MWH. Running for 20 years it could power more than 17,000 homes a year.

Energy is generated by heating wood to just before the point it burns, without enough oxygen, which creates a gas known as ‘syngas’.

This syngas is then burned to create steam which drives a turbine, generating electricity.

A spokesperson for MWH Treatment said the emissions are lower than burning wood straight away.

The Tyseley plant will get through roughly 67,000 tonnes of waste wood from a local supplier a year. Owner Birmingham Bio-Power said this would otherwise be destined for landfill.

Set to be ready by March 2016, the Tyseley will qualify for renewable subsidies under the Government’s ROCs scheme until 2017.