Because Scotland engages in sustainable management of its forests it has ample wood waste, which until now had been largely, um, wasted. However, the new plant will use that residue as well as "specially grown willow" to generate 44MW of electricity - enough to power some 70,000 homes.
Woodburning is also a surprisingly clean form of power generation, and according to the govenment will save up to 140,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually (although the press release doesn't say compared to what.) The plant has the added advantage of making the surrounding area smell as festive as a roaring fire on Christmas Eve.
Burning biomass - in this case what's called "woody biomass" - is part of the Scottish government's plan to generate at least half of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050.
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