A facility that is expected to produce up to 25 million gallons of biofuel every year has officially been opened in the US.

The Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas (ABBK) in Hugoton will also generate up to 21MW of electricity – enough to power itself and provide excess renewable energy to the local community.

It will cut 132,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually – equivalent to taking 28,000 cars off the road.

The facility is the third commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery – which converts non-edible corn stalks, stems and leaves into fermentable sugars that are the converted into transportation fuel – to come online in the US.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said: “Every gallon of cellulosic ethanol produced and used to fuel our vehicles reduces the impact of harmful greenhouse gas emissions by greater than 60% as compared to conventional gasoline.”

In 2011, the project received a $132 million (£81.7m) loan from the US Department of Energy.