By ceremoniously planting a new walnut tree, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs Maria van der Hoeven officially opened the new Biomass Power Plant at Twence Waste and Energy in Hengelo on 16 February 2009. The walnut tree is a symbol of sustainability.

In her speech, the Minister pointed out that the Biomass Power Plant will contribute significantly towards achieving the Balkenende administration’s sustainability objectives for 2020. The administration has made investing in sustainability a priority. To that end, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment recently introduced a number of grant schemes aimed at stimulating innovation in the area of renewable energy.

Twence Director Jan Rooijakkers suggested that a company like his is certainly willing to invest in the production of renewable energy, for example heat, but that the government will also need to do its share to make those projects economically feasible. The government should stimulate the creation of a district-heating network in the Netherlands.

Peter den Oudsten, chairman of Regio Twente, pointed out that Twence is not only an important partner is for the municipalities in of Twente with regard to sustainability, but that projects like the Biomass Power Plant also serve as an impulse for the economy and the innovative force of that region. He called on the government, precisely in this period of economic crisis, to stimulate investments in sustainability.

Electricity from biomass

The Biomass Power Plant will process 140,000 tonnes of biomass each year, mainly waste wood products from demolition projects and the woody remnants of the composting process. The plant will annually produce enough electricity to provide the households of a city the size of Hengelo with “green” energy. It will also mean an annual savings of 38.4 million cubic metres of natural gas, as well as a reduction of 69,000 tonnes in CO₂ emissions each year.