A new biomass facility in Liverpool is now helping to power three million British homes from sustainable wood sources. The facility takes large shipments of waste wood from sustainable forestry operations in America, and it is then transported on to Drax power station.

Peel Ports Group handle the incoming pellets at the new purpose-built biomass terminal in the Port of Liverpool, which received £100 million of investment. The resulting green energy is sufficient to power the cities of Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield and Leeds combined.

The plant went into operation in October, and there have already been more than 400 trains to transport the incoming biomass fuel. However, the facility will ramp up even further when it becomes fully operational in autumn, bringing further economic benefits to the local area and potentially more jobs.

Already the port facility has created over 50 sustainable jobs, and when it is operating at full capacity it will handle three million tonnes of wooden pellets every year, processing them via its own rail loading bays and lines, complemented by a storage facility big enough to hold 100,000 tonnes of biomass fuel.

Drax Power Station in Yorkshire has undergone a transformation in recent years to move away from damaging fossil fuels towards green energy, and now 70pc of its production is renewable. Drax is so vast that its green energy achievements contribute almost 20pc to the UK's total renewable achievements.

The port loading and handling facility in Liverpool is now undergoing final testing and quality checks to prepare it for its full capacity. The expectation is that it will provide inspiration to other power stations and associated ports to consider long-term sustainable energy contracts which help to move the UK towards its low-carbon future and away from polluting fossil fuels.