A most precious commodity

摘要

Most power stations are surrounded by coal tips or pipes carrying gas. But round the plant that powers the Swedish town of Enkoping, some 70 kilometres west of Stockholm, there is willow coppice stretching as far as the eye can see. Enkoping is probably the only town in Europe that is powered by blofuels, 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, the plant's willow trees soak up a tonne from the air as they grow. Hundreds of willow-powered plants could operate across Europe, he says, if power companies had similar incentives to cut carbon emissions.