MOST power stations are surrounded by coal tips or pipes carrying gas. But round the plant that powers the Swedish town of Enköping, some 70 kilometres west of Stockholm, there is willow coppice stretching as far as the eye can see. Enköping is probably the only town in Europe that is powered by biofuels.
The plant’s director, Eddie Johansson, says willow is as economic as coal or gas because Sweden levies a tax on carbon emissions from most power plants. Under the government’s rules, he does not have to pay the tax because for every tonne of carbon dioxide that disappears up the stack,…
