A group of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have questioned a Danish pension fund’s green credentials after it invested in a biomass power station in the UK.

The various groups, which include Biofuelwatch, Dogwood Alliance and NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark, suggest Pensionskassernes Administration’s (PKA) acquisition of 50% of the shares in the new MGT Teesside power plant in North Yorkshire conflicts with its commitment to investing in an environmentally responsible manner.

They argue the biomass facility will damage the climate, forests and local communities by burning trees to generate electricity and have called on the fund to divest.

The plant will burn up to 1.5 million tonnes of wood pellets a year, which equates to about three million tonnes of green wood from freshly harvested trees.

The campaigners disagree with the assertion that wood-based bioenergy is inherently carbon neutral.

Bente Hessellund Andersen, Campaigner for NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark, said: “A misleading label on bioenergy as a carbon dioxide-neutral form of renewable energy has now led to the devastating investment by a Danish pension fund in a British biomass power station. This is embarrassing.”

ELN has contacted PKA for a statement.