A biomass power plant capable of supplying 50,000 homes has been officially unveiled in Kent today.

Dignitaries from around the country gathered at Discovery Park in Sandwich to witness the £160 million project in action after it successfully commenced operations two weeks ago.

Formal speeches and a tour demonstrated how the plant is able to produce renewable heat and power to more than 150 businesses at the park, plus local consumers connected to UKPN’s grid.

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To be known as Kent Renewable Energy, it will be fuelled by locally sourced wood supplied by EuroForest.

In addition to producing energy, the plant will also save about 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

The saving is equal to more than a million plane flights to Paris or almost 28 million miles driven by an average car – the same as driving around the world nearly 1,135 times.

The development which was first given planning approval in late 2013 was the brainchild of sustainable infrastructure developer Estover Energy Ltd.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Danish engineering and contracting company BWSC have completed the work two months ahead of schedule and within budget.

It has created around 250 jobs during the construction phase and 30 full-time jobs now its operational.

It sits to the north east side of the park and will be run and maintained by BWSC on a 20-year contract.

Christina Grumstrup Sørensen, senior partner with CIP, said: "After a 25-month successful construction period this is the moment we have all been looking forward to.

"We are delighted to see renewable power and heat being generated and delivered to local customers based on locally sourced wood.

"We have completed yet another successful biomass project ahead of time and within budget in strong cooperation with local authorities and our business partners including BWSC, EuroForest and Discovery Park, and we look forward to the continued cooperation for the next 20 years or more of plant operations."