One of the country's largest energy suppliers has applied for permission to use biomass as a fuel at its Tilbury power station.
RWE npower has approached the Environment Agency with a request to increase the use of biomass.
Currently, a small amount of biomass is allowed to be used as a fuel in place of coal at the power station, the manager at the facility, Nigel Staves, explained.
The licence that has been applied for would allow for the amount of biomass used to be varied.
"If permission is granted by the Environment Agency, we would adapt the plant to burn biomass rather than coal," he said.
Mr Staves explained that such a change would reduce the amount of ash created at the power station as well as cut down emissions of sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides.
Such a conversion, should it be approved, would take approximately one year to complete, npower confirmed.
The Tilbury power station began operation in 1969. It is capable of meeting the domestic energy requirements of approximately one million people.
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