PIONEERING proposals to build a wood-fired mini power station at Hurn are being drawn up by operators of the Eco-Compost concern as a green means of generating electricity.

Plans for the bio-mass generator at the composting complex off Chapel Lane were announced last year and a formal application is expected to be submitted shortly to Dorset County Council, as strategic waste authority, for its approval.

The bio-mass process already widely used in Europe and a site on Teesside burns scrap wood chips at high temperatures to power a turbine and generate electricity.

Powered by waste wood, timber and furniture brought to the site for composting the 2.25 megawatt bio-mass generator could be operational within three years to provide enough electricity for 5,000 homes in the area.

It is also proposed to grow and harvest willow grown on some 150 acres of adjoining farmland to provide extra fuel for the green power station projected to be about the size of a small aircraft hangar.

Eco-Composting boss Trelawney Dampney said the project had been well received by local residents and conservation watchdogs when the plans were put out for public display and consultation at the end of last year.

He said the bio-mass scheme was not connected with Dorset County Council's controversial bid to build an MBT - mechanical and biological treatment - waste processing plant at the nearby Hurn refuse transfer site.

"People are obviously concerned about the MBT proposals but the bio-mass generator absolutely and categorically cannot burn rubbish," said Mr Dampney.

He explained the bio-mass technique of burning chips of scrap wood at around 850 degrees provided clean, green, and sustainable energy.

"If it was polluting, we wouldn't get a licence from the Environment Agency," he said.